Drama / Romance
2016 / 84 minutes
Rating: 7/10
My favorite movie of all time is a modern-day Mormon-produced Pride and Prejudice update. So, I am up for retellings. Whether you like or loath the Hallmark-produced Unleashing Mr. Darcy will largely depend on if you are too.
This twist in the tale this time is that it takes place in the New England dog show circuit. Mr. Darcy is rich, of course, but he’s also a dog show judge. And Elizabeth is a school teacher and a dog handler. The Bennet family has largely been excised, though her goofy mom remains. And Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the original, shows up here as his Aunt Violet, every bit as snooty.
What I liked about it, was all the thought put into translating the gist of Jane Austen’s original into such a foreign setting. I thought it quite clever.
What I didn’t like about it was some of the acting. The male lead, in particular, is stiff – he got this on his looks, rather than his acting chops, I suspect.
Cautions
The only caution I can think of would be a brief glimpse of Mr. Darcy as he gets out of a swimming pool. He is shirtless for about a minute and, of course, has a six-pack.
That relates to one other caution that would apply to most other Hallmark films: candy, in moderation, is a wonderful thing, but not as something to binge on. We all know that there aren’t enough billionaires or royal suitors to go around, and since you are what you eat, too many Hallmark films might have a young teen thinking she’s going to have to settle for someone ordinary. But choosing reality over fantasy isn’t settling!
Conclusion
To sum up, this is a clever script, with okay performances, safe for the whole family.
There is a sequel, Marrying Mr. Darcy, that might interest some. But because it takes things past the conclusion of Austen’s book, there isn’t the same clever reworking of her classic. This sequel is a wholly original story, but too much like every other Hallmark story to be at all original. If you liked the actors, then you may like the sequel too – it is another dose of safe viewing. But if, like me, you appreciated the first movie for how it put a new spin on Pride and Prejudice (this time with dogs!), then the sequel won’t satisfy.
I almost didn’t include Unleashing Mr. Darcy‘s trailer, because it’s terrible. The film isn’t going to win an Oscar, but it is way better than this makes it look.
