Sorority of Satire: Never Judge a Book by its Lover

For my last book club pick, I went with Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible.  Not because I'm a Jane Austen fan, but because I'm a fan of Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy.  Eligible is (probably?) the latest in the many modern takes on Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Which gave me pause because -- and please don't send hate mail -- I've never liked that book.  I found Elizabeth Bennett kind of cold and Austen's writing tedious.  I know, I know.  It's a classic, not to mention the archetype for every romantic comedy ever.  Even the famously critical Sheldon Cooper couldn't argue its excellence when trying to denigrate things Amy Farrah Fowler loved on The Big Bang Theory, conceding, "He has too much pride, she has too much prejudice.  It just works."  That said, I was intrigued by Eligible as a pop culture comment on a novel that's never far from the zeitgeist.

And you know what?  It was a hoot.  This time Elizabeth is a New York City-based women's magazine writer.  Her big sis Jane is a yoga instructor and lives in the Big Apple too, and their three younger sisters Mary, Kitty, and Lydia are unemployed and live with their parents in a crumbling mansion in Cincinnati.  I always knew that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were caricatures, but I never appreciated just how laughable they are until Sittenfeld reincarnated them as a health insurance objector and shopaholic hoarder.  Even Elizabeth's dislike for Darcy rings truer when she overhears him disparaging her hometown to his bestie and Jane's love interest Bingley.  Darcy, by the way, is an ER doc, a role that imbues him with all the arrogant pomp he needs to do his namesake justice.  Not only that, but he's still super rich and master of Pemberley.   

But it's not just the characters that emerge as more vivid.  I really enjoyed the language.  It's just dry enough, sharpened by wit and insight and, yes, heart to echo the vibe of the original in a way that doesn't, as I like to say, "stick in your throat."  Add some very present-day social scenarios, all of which reveal Elizabeth to, surprise surprise, be the most traditional as well as the most forward-thinking of the Bennetts, and you have a silken satire.

So hats (bonnets?) off to you, Curtis Sittenfeld, for softening my misinformed prejudice toward this timeless title.

Maybe I'm a little like Elizabeth after all.          

Movie Moment: Something Borrowed

Each spring, movie theaters are flooded with flicks about weddings. Something Borrowed, a story of unrequited love and back-stabbing best buds, is text book. Like Water for Elephants, it's based on a novel of the same title (which, also like Water for Elephants, I didn't read). But before I even begin to talk about the plot I feel the need to say this: It was icky.

I've never been a fan of the home wrecker romance. Most of us have shoulda woulda coulda moments, but trying to rewrite them doesn't make destroying other people's lives okay. And Something Borrowed is about just that. The main character is Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), a lawyer and your typical buttoned-up, hard-working good girl. Her best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson [can't help but think of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy every time I hear that name]), is your typical self-absorbed, manipulative party girl. Darcy is engaged to Rachel's law school friend, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), aka Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome but Jerky. The problem? Rachel's always had a crush on Dex and still does.

You see where this is going, right?

Yes, Darcy is awful. Shallow and over-the-top, she's the embodiment of every high school mean girl all grown up. But I couldn't help but feel that she's painted that way so viewers don't feel guilty about rooting for Rachel. As for Dex, he masquerades as a sensitive guy who's just doing what his parents want. But he's really a coward who wants to have his cake and eat it too. Although put-upon, Rachel is only marginally sympathetic as the other woman. Not only does she poach her best friend's fiancé, but she allows herself to be treated badly, fulfilling the tired old mistress cliché.

From this mess, only Rachel and Darcy's childhood friend Ethan (the ever-affable John Krasinski) emerges as likable and funny, offering up witty observations from the sidelines during the crew's seemingly endless Hamptons weekends. Sure, he spends most of the movie dodging a woman he slept with and then dumped. But next to Dex and their mutual sleazy slacker friend Marcus, he still manages to channel the nice guy vibe of his "Office" character, Jim. (Who says there's no such thing as type casting?)

At one point, I thought the plot was going to wrap up in a predictable but still feel-good-sort-of-way that would have saved things. (Good little blogger that I am, I won't spill any more, should you decide to see the movie despite this uncharitable review.) But it didn't. It ended in a crescendo of insultingly cheesy soap opera incidents and a finale that could be described as only -- you guessed it -- icky.

If I have such an aversion to cheating hearts, then why did I see this movie? Because it's a romantic comedy, and I feel compelled to see all romantic comedies, no matter how seemingly stupid.

Next stop, Bridesmaids. I know the fuchsia taffeta won't disappoint.