The Jane Austen Book Club

Directed by: Robin Swicord
Starring: Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Kevin Zegers

You can never judge a book by its cover, but there are times when you can gauge a target movie audience by its title. Book club? Jane Austen? A group of women? Chances are if these things turn your tummy, this sure as hell isn't the film for you.

In a world full of petty irritations, noise and minute cruelties, a group of women (and one lone brave dude) decide to have a book club where each member is responsible for one of Austen's books. The women are all in various stages of love, marriage and divorce, and, unsurprisingly, each character and minor plot line reflects one or more of Austen's character archetypes.

A traditionally-styled chick flick (think a bookish Steel Magnolias sans southern flavour and death), The Jane Austen Book Club relies on character development, occasional snappy dialogue and the ins-and-outs of love, rather than tooting urban contemporariness (it doesn't have any) or fabulousness (zilch). But despite its seemingly inevitable doom at the box office, it offers minor lessons in how to behave a little more gracefully and some useful tips on how to be "The Man That Women Want." Even more horrifyingly, it encourages people to step out of their everyday patterns, take a new perspective and even read a damn book once in a while.