Video Fun House film fans Jean Tarbett Hardiman and John Gillispie disagree on "The Jane Austen Book Club," rated PG-13 and starring Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker and Jimmy Smits. Jean didn't care about any of the characters, but John found the movie interesting after he got past the slow start. Jean did, however, give a thumbs up to "Becoming Jane."

JOHN: You know that I only watched "The Jane Austen Book Club" because you are such a big Jane Austen fan.

JEAN: And I appreciate that.

JOHN: I know that I called you 20 minutes into the film and left a message about how much I hated this movie after nine minutes of watching it. But once I was able to sort out all the characters in this movie (and there are a lot of them) and figure out what their stories were, I enjoyed the result, even if it was a little predictable. Let's set the scene for our readers. "The Jane Austen Book Club" features five women and one man who start a club and pledge to read the six major novels of Jane Austen. Each character gets to lead one of the six discussions.

JEAN: We have a mother and her grown daughter, Sylvia and Allegra (played by Amy Brenneman and Maggie Grace). Early in the movie, Sylvia is told by her husband (Jimmy Smits) that he's in love with another woman, and they separate. Their daughter Allegra is a thrill-seeker who shifts as quickly from skydiving to wall-climbing as she moves on to new love interests. Kathy Baker plays the free-spirited woman of the world named Bernadette, who has had more husbands than some women have had boyfriends. And Maria Bello is Jocelyn, a single woman who seems to be about 40 and never married but is devoted to training dogs. In fact, early on, they're all at a funeral for one of her dogs.

JOHN: Joining the group as newcomers are Prudie (Emily Blunt), a French teacher unhappy with her marriage, and Grigg (Hugh Dancy), a computer whiz who is interested in Jocelyn, but she keeps trying to push him to be with the newly separated Sylvia.

JEAN: All the women are likable in their own way, and seem to reflect some of the qualities of Jane Austen's characters. But my major problem with the movie is how close they come to making decisions that would really tick off Jane. We're all human and make mistakes -- that's one of Jane's major themes -- but I personally don't see how these women could go through so many books full of so many insights about humanity and stay clueless for so long. It frustrated me.

JOHN: I know you didn't like this movie much, but how much did you like "Becoming Jane," the movie that takes a look at the life of author Jane Austen?

JEAN: That was a pretty good movie, a little better than "Book Club." From what I understand, it was based on some facts (gleaned from letters she had written) and then a lot of it was just complete fiction.

JOHN: Was it about how she became a writer?

JEAN: A little, and it also followed the ever-present plot in many of her books: What was a woman of little money to do in the way of marriage? Marry for love? Or marry for money? Many Jane Austen fans know that she was never rich and never married, but she reportedly had at least one crush in her life. His name was Tom Lefroy. He was Irish and did not have much in the way of a bank account. He was under the keeping of a wealthy uncle in London and training to be a lawyer, but Lefroy had an aunt who lived out in the country near the Austen family, and when he came to visit, sparks flew between him and Jane.

JOHN: This was the true part?

JEAN: Yes. The fiction part is what their interaction was like and why their relationship never resulted in marriage. And writer Kevin Hood made up some good stuff. Romance during Jane Austen's time (around the late 18th, early 19th centuries) required a lot of restraint. The movie-makers and lead actors Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy did a good job of showing a powerful attraction without the hanky-panky. You really want it to work out for them, so there are some sad moments, but I also laughed a lot in this one. It wasn't as funny as if Jane had written it herself, but it was good.

JOHN: So, at least one of these two Jane Austen movies worked for you. But, something tells me that neither one will be taking the place of your beloved "Pride and Prejudice" miniseries starring one Colin Firth.

JEAN: I have to agree with you there. The bottom line, I think, is only Jane can do Jane.

Jean Tarbett Hardiman is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. John Gillispie is the public relations director for the Huntington Museum of Art. Contact the writers at jeant@herald-dispatch.com.

Gannett News Service

Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy appear in a scene from the motion picture "Becoming Jane."

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