My guilty pleasure in a world full of polarization and hardship and amongst TV shows that seem to use sexual violence as a scene filler when they get bored, is a good dumb Hallmark-esque movie - light, breezy, idealistic, predictable, very mild peril. I stumbled upon this on a streaming service because I noticed Alicia Witt (an absolute stalwart of these type of films, along with Candace Cameron Bure) and popped it on immediately.
I think this film has hamstrung itself by using the Jane Austen title - it is clearly attracting viewers who are expecting something very different from what the Hallmark formula would ever be able to provide - there's a particular pace to the scenes and level of simplicity (no shade, that I love!) to the acting and characters, and I was DELIGHTED to see Bebe Neuworth and Liza Lapira having fun in the low stress, 87 minute piece of TV movie cotton candy.
Please skip it if you're hoping for a faithful reboot, think of this more as a Clueless to an Emma (including idiosyncratic contemporary ways of speaking that will grate on some viewers that don't seem to realise a) language evolves and b) each generation has pushed the boundaries on what the previous generation found to be acceptable) but with a much much lower budget and Hallmark romcom standard production - which is that's your thing (and it clearly is a lot of people's go to comfort TV because even as someone without any cable services in the UK I can always find a new one to watch somewhere) this is a fantastic example of the genre, which some bigger hitter sitcom/dramedy actors on the cast than usual.
Overall, I love it, and I might even watch it again before I switch to Christmas themed Hallmark/Lifetime films after Halloween.
