I had the delightful pleasure of going to a screening of Sony Classic Pictures’ new film “Austenland” starring Keri Russell, who really has had a lot of exceptional roles in smaller films. In this film she is a huge Jane Austen who decides to spend her life savings on a “game changer” vacation to “Austenland”. It turns out to be a bit of a degrading experience for her since she could only afford the “crap copper package.”
This hilarious and charming romp had the audience laughing from the start. As a “Jane-ite” I love finding new ways of interpreting her works into the modern world. Let the charm carry you away:
And, lesson learned, I should have stuck to my first instinct to take a selfie because this is a fuzzy hot mess. Still, I finally got my hands on Mr. Darcy!
When it comes to historical romance and embodying Jane Austen’s leading man, Mr. Darcy, Colin Firth and Matthew MacFayden have both made women swoon. Here’s how they stack up:
1. HEIGHT:
COLIN: commands attention at 6’1″. I guess he’ll never star opposite Tom Cruise. Most Hollywood actors tend to be on the shorter side.
MATTHEW: trumps Firth measuring up at an impressive 6’3″. Now there’s a man worth reaching up to!
WINNER: Macfayden
2. ELIZABETH BENNETTS:
So happy together
MATTHEW: won hearts for his portrayal of Darcy opposite Keira Knightly. Though addicting, Keira’s heavy eyeshadow when she meets him wandering in the fields is distracting as the final scene when she instructs him he can only call her Mrs. Darcy when he is incandescently happy.
COLIN: In the BBC more traditional version of Pride and Prejudice, he was opposite Jennifer Ehle who played Elizabeth Bennett with grace and fun. She had an air of grace about her and played the part to perfection.
CF gets a second modern day EB in the form of Bridget Jones played by Renee Zwelleger . He portrayed a modern Darcy in ‘Bridget Jones Diary.’ Renee’s role as Bridget raised eyebrows as the American took on such an English character. However, she bulked up and got her accent down so perfectly all thoughts of anyone else in the role evaporated.
WINNER: Colin Firth
3. ACCOLADES:
Both actors have won the BAFTA for acting.
COLIN: Won the SAG award for his portrayal of Lord Wessex in ‘Shakespeare in Love.” He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” He has been nominated for 21 awards globally and won 13 of them.
MATTHEW: Aside from the BAFTA he also won the Royal Television Society, UK and New Zealand Screen Award. He has been nominated for six awards and won
Winner: Colin with a 60% plus average of winning. Matthew’s 50% win rate is also impressive.
4. SEX APPEAL
COLIN: dropped his drawers most notably for Pride & Prejudice. If you watch the bonus material for Bridget Jones 2 Renee interviews Colin as Bridget:
Mmm, no wonder Colin’s co-star Jennifer Ehle didn’t let him go. The two dated for a while. Colin isn’t afraid of his appeal to both sexes. He played a gay man struggling with his sexuality in the 60’s in Tom Ford’s “A Single Man.” Go Colin, I love a man who is such a great actor a little dabbling in sexuality doesn’t scare him off from a role.
MATTHEW reads Shakespeare:
WINNER: Draw! Who wouldn’t take either one?
OVERALL WINNER: Colin by a hair. Matthew is a rising star who will be around for a long time. I’d like to see the two of them play opposite one another.
Both men are highly educated, well-travelled, married to fabulous women and provide us with enough characters to keep a girl locked away for the weekend with a box of tissues and full of romantic notions. The real winners? US!
Since I have all these great man crushes, I should give the fairer sex the same airtime. Of course, if you read my blog regularly you know that I j’adore Gwyneth ‘That’s not happiness to see me’ Paltrow.
You probably recognize Saffy Saff from a lot of character roles she has had in films (just a sampling folks)
a) Circle of Friends: the very naughty social-climbing friend Nan who has a mad-affair with Colin Firth in one of his slimer roles.
b) Hotel de Love- a little Aussie indie film in which she works at a rundown hotel that is trying to come back to life under the watch of two brothers who inherit it.
c) Deep Blue Sea– as Dr. Susie: we violated the Harvard Compact & altered the sharks genes. As a result the sharks got smarter.
You stupid Bitch! (Damn I love that scene!!!)
d) Troy- as the frail wife of the beloved Hector (Bantastic alert sigh….) who is shattered once her man dies infront of all of Troy in a battle with Achilles. Boo!!! (That is the point I turn off Troy.)
e) The new partner of Jeff Goldblum on none other than Law & Order: CI. This has sparked a lot of whiny, long-time viewers to declare they will never watch this Dunt Dunt spin-off again. Whatever! People I have watched that show from day 1 as well and while I love them, this transition has been going on for over a season. Seriously will there be as much backlash when Chris Maloney leaves SVU? If you are so obsessed with these actors allow them the creativity to bow out when they are done. Maloney has been on SVU for 12 years!
I ramble….back to Saffron. Good for you my dear! I’m glad to see a bit of fresh blood and some new storylines. For sass: yes, Saffron could get afford to eat a few of those cop donuts!
Ramblings of the BK GrrlGenius 