Now right off the bat I will say that I have not seen enough Jane Austen films to truly judge whether this is the Finest.
But I know a classic when I see it.
The movie Clueless, the movie from 1995 starring Brittany Murphy and Alicia Silverstone and by director Amy Heckerling, is a classic. It is a classic teen movie adapted from Jane Austen's Emma.
This is a movie that reads like a Britney Spears music video from 1999 but contains all the substance that we expect from Jane Austen.
A real thinking person's teen movie, examining the ideas in Jane Austen's Emma with all the youthful optimism of Britney Spears's classic Baby One More Time music video from 1999.
On Rotten Tomatoes this is the highest rated Jane Austen movie that is a nontraditional reinterpretation.
Save for one movie based on a book that is itself based on Jane Austen, which is rated equal to it, every movie higher on the list is a straight traditional period piece set in Jane Austen's time.
Now, I love the idea of a good Jane Austen period piece.
But Jane Austen's ideas are universal.
And Jane Austen wrote her books to be highly accessible in the pop culture of her day, in early 19th Century Europe.
I think it is so appropriate and so going along with Jane Austen's own intentions to take one of her books and reinterpret it in film in the pop culture of our own time, in this case America in the late 80's and 90's, anticipating the spirit of the Britney Spears late 90's.
And the things Jane Austen writes about are so appropriate for a teen movie, for this is when we start to really learn the kinds of things that Jane Austen writes about, all the little things in interpersonal relationships, and the rational way to persue them in the hopes of finding a happy life for yourself while helping those around you find their own happiness.
These things, these Jane Austen kinds of things, persued with reason and the intent to make people happy while finding happiness ourselves, these things we begin to learn in our teens. Especially in our teens, and continuing in our early adulthood.
And so this makes Jane Austen so purfect for a teen movie.
And this is a teen movie that everyone can enjoy.
We can all appreciate the ideas in Jane Austen's story, and the way they are presented makes them relatable for all of us, not just teenagers, especially anyone who likes light, happy pop things like Britney Spears's music from 1999 or any Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
This is Jane Austen for the pop culture of the modern era.
Jane Austen for the age of Britney and N*SYNC.
The finest reinterpretation of Jane Austen in film?
You decide. I don't have enough time to watch that many movies. I spend too much time writing. I have so many wonderful things I want to tell you about in my writings!
But then it is better to decide for yourself anyway.
God loves you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson