Twi-hards, Beliebers and Whovians have nothing on the cult of Jane Austen, whose beribboned ranks are ripe for satire. Unfortunately, this scattershot comedy only occasionally hits the mark.
Colin Firth’s turn as Mr. Darcy in the BBC miniseries “Pride and Prejudice” looms large in the imagination of mousy American singleton Jane Hayes (Keri Russell), who decides to splash out for a trip to the titular British historical recreation park, where she’ll vacation as a Regency-era gal.
She can only afford the entry-level package, though, and is cast by Jane Seymour’s stern park owner as “Miss Jane Erstwhile, an orphan of no fortune.” Still, she’s befriended by wealthier vacationer Jennifer Coolidge (“I’m gonna look great in these wench gowns!”) and a lowly but adorable carriage driver (Bret McKenzie), as well as catching the eye of Mr. Nobley (J.J. Feild), a resort actor who seems clearly designated as The Darcy.
The novel-adapted “Austenland” is the directorial debut of Jerusha Hess, who co-wrote “Napoleon Dynamite,” and it shares a quirky sensibility, and aesthetic, with that film. But the timing feels off, and none of the period humor really works. Most scenes are stolen by Coolidge and James Callis, as her campy suitor; Russell’s usual spark seems to have gotten lost under her character’s dowdy dresses.