Clueless (1995)
I think this is very funny, especially for fans of Emma. It's a pretty good modern interpretation of that book: Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is privileged, popular, and well-intentioned, but she ends up causing various problems while trying to help others find love. Her lawer father is hilarious (to Cher's slick, smooth-spoken and cocky date, he says, "I have a .45 and a shovel. I doubt anyone would miss you").
Jon watched it with me. He hasn't said he hated it, and he laughed several times, so that's good. (I'm very grateful to have a husband who will watch chick flicks with me. And without making gagging noises or anything like that.)
One of the reasons Clueless works so well as a Jane Austen adaptation is that the high school is an excellent parallel to class in pre-industrialized England. In Austen's time, income, titles, and background meant everything; in high school, it's how you dress, talk and what you do for fun ("the loadies hang out on that grassy knoll"). Maybe it's easier to move between the "classes" in a high school, but I think the comparison works pretty well.
I never really thought about high school being so similar to pre-industrialized England, but you're right. (Oh, how intelligent I feel writing pre-industrialized England.)
I do like this movie. It's pretty funny. Now, what did you think of the modern Pride and Prejudice? It was funny, sort of, but also really dumb.
I don't even know if "pre-industrialized England" is a good phrase to use, but it seemed too hard to narrow it down further. I think the book takes place in the early 1800s or maybe even the late 1700s. So I called it pre-industrialized.
Do you mean the LDS Pride and Prejudice? I thought it was pretty good. The whole marriage theme of P&P works really well in a BYU setting. Or at least it works in the stereotype of BYU: lots of girls who want to get married and/or think only about guys; the older, unmarried guy who is determined to get married by finding a girl who fits all his criteria; the older girl who hasn't married yet and looks to some like an "old maid." It works quite well, I think.
Is that the one you mean? There is also a movie called Bride and Prejudice. I haven't seen it yet, but I want to. It's a Bollywood musical (Bollywood is the term for the "Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry"). Looks pretty interesting and I've heard good things about it.
When the 2005 Pride and Prejudice came out, I thought, "Now, how could they improve on the 1995 A&E one?" But I am composing a long post about the Pride and Prejudice movies, so I won't get into it here.
Bridget Jones's Diary is sort of a modern retelling of P&P. I've seen most of it (edited) on TV. But of course, the morals and values of the characters are drastically changed from the novel. Actually, that's another post I have to write--the Bridget Jones books.
I should watch the LDS P&P again sometime. I remember really liking it; I don't remember thinking that it was too silly.