Transcript
Speaker: Hey, Stephanie. Hey, Melinda. What would you say if I told you that Pride and Prejudice took place on the dog show circuit and some Cavalier King Char Spaniels and the UK tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail have more impact on the plot than Jane Bennett?
Speaker: my My reaction is a very shocked woof. Music Music Music
Speaker: Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the primped and preened world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Melinda. And I'm Stephanie. And this episode is our first doubleheader.
Speaker: Two adaptations for the price of one. We are looking at Unleashing Mr. Darcy. The book was written by Terry Wilson and published in 2014 by Harlequin Press. Then there was a Hallmark movie of the same name, directed by David Winning and written by Tina Booth and Terry Wilson, released in 2016.
Speaker: This also happens to be the third in a trilogy of retellings that I've reviewed to start this podcast that all begin with Un, undeceived, unmarriageable, and now unleashing Mr. Darcy. Believe it or not, this was a complete coincidence.
Speaker: The Un-Trilogy uncovered this fun fact the other day looking at our episode spreadsheet. Oh, well done. And first up, the blurb from the book in case you'd like to experience unleashing Mr Darcy for yourself before listening on.
Speaker: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman teetering on the verge of 30 must be in want of a husband. Insert shocked silence. Not true for Manhattanite Elizabeth Scott.
Speaker: Instead of planning a walk down the aisle, she's crossing the pond with the only companion she needs, her darling dog, Bliss. Caring for a pack of show dogs in England seems the perfect distraction from the scandal that ruined her teaching career and her reputation in New York.
Speaker: What she doesn't count on is an unstoppable attraction to billionaire dog breeder Donovan Darcy. The London tycoon's a little bit arrogant, a whole lot sexy, and the chemistry between them is disarming.
Speaker: When passion is finally unleashed, might Elizabeth hope to take home more than a blue ribbon? Oh my god, Melinda, what have you gotten me into?
Speaker: Donovan? Donovan Darcy. yeah No, no. no Before we get started, you can probably guess by the language in that blurb that this book has a few adult scenes.
Speaker: The movie has none. We will only mention those scenes as they relate to the themes and the plot. And now it's time for the spoiler chat. I started this podcast journey with some adaptations I enjoyed immensely.
Speaker: So it's only fair that I get a book I didn't enjoy as much. I'm going to talk about the movie later. It's also worth mentioning that this book sits squarely in the romance genre. I don't mind there being romance in what I read, but I'm not a fan of the genre and its plot tropes.
Speaker: If you like romance novels and dogs, you'll probably enjoy this adaptation. Neither of us are romance novel readers, despite the fact that our favorite novel is the greatest romance novel ever written.
Speaker: Oh boy, this is going to be a journey. I must say that Melinda did forewarn me that I was going to be yeah concerned with some of the plot lines. So I have got a glass of wine ready. I'm ready. So I can see people loving this in the way that I love undeceived.
Speaker: And that's perfectly okay. We all like and enjoy different things. The author writes in her introduction that she wishes that readers will have the same fun reading this book that she had while writing it.
Speaker: While I'm going to point out the flaws in this book, I'm not here to make fun of an author for writing something they love and executing their vision. It's a huge accomplishment and I don't want that to get lost in what comes next.
Speaker: Yeah, totally. It's a massive achievement. Also, her book got turned into a movie. Wow. That's super cool. So, to the book. Elizabeth Scott lives in New York. She owns a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Bliss, and they are in New Jersey for the weekend competing at a dog show with her older sister, Jenna.
Speaker: There, they meet some new people. The first is a woman named Sue Barrow. Sue is from England, and she owns Four Terriers. Sue Barrow is our Mrs. Gardiner stand-in.
Speaker: Barrow? Gardiner? Oh no, no. She's a benevolent older woman who ends up helping Elizabeth and Jenna. The other person they meet is a guest dog show judge named Donovan Darcy.
Speaker: Sue starts telling Elizabeth all about the renowned breeder and judge. The two women are literally standing there swooning over how handsome he is when Elizabeth realises she's late to present Bliss for judging.
Speaker: Elizabeth rushes up apologising for her lateness and Donovan gets snippy with her. As a result, Elizabeth immediately concludes that Donovan must be a rude, rich snob. Point of clarification, Elizabeth thinks Donovan is rude because he's all business during formal dog show judging that she was late for because she was checking him out.
Speaker: Just, what is it with these characters? In these first couple of chapters, we've met most of the main characters in this book. The Bingley's, George Wickham and Lady Catherine are introduced soon.
Speaker: But that's the character list. The rest of the Scott family, aka the Bennets, are mentioned once, but are so inconsequential i didn't even write down their names. Oh wow. There's a random Mr. Collins and Charlotte reference that has no bearing on the story, but that's it.
Speaker: The smaller cast of characters means the story can focus on the budding romance between Donovan and Elizabeth. This book contains two main plot points of Pride and Prejudice, the Wickham scandal and then the first proposal letter Pemberley sections of the story.
Speaker: The story starts with the George Wickham scandal, which is actually really well done. We learn in the opening chapters that until recently, Elizabeth had been a history teacher at a prestigious high school in Manhattan, but she failed one of her students, meaning he couldn't captain the schools, rugby or lacrosse, both sports are used,
Speaker: team in an important match. The student's father, the rich and powerful Grant Markham, aka our George Wickham, tried to bribe her to change his son's grade and hit on her in the process.
Speaker: Gross. but So she slapped him. The principal tells her that Grant Markham has accused Elizabeth of demanding the bribe to change the grade and she's now suspended while there's an investigation. oh Oh, that's great.
Speaker: That's a really good interpretation. Yes. What is it with the unhinged books being good at one thing, which is the George Wickham storyline? This one is really good. I mean, sure, Grant Markham is rich and powerful, but he's a sleazeball and it destroys her reputation. So fits.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. That's a really great interpretation of it. I like that. This works well for two reasons. Grant Markham does the wrong thing. He uses his lies, charm and power to damage Elizabeth's professional reputation.
Speaker: Sure, there's no Lydia character and he's wealthy, but getting fired from that school is going to have a huge impact on her ability to get a job. And it's also a blow personally because no one believes the truth of what actually happened.
Speaker: Yeah, that's rough. The other thing it sets up really well is Elizabeth's, let's call it distaste, for people who are rich. She's seen firsthand how the rich and powerful can bend the world around them to meet their ends.
Speaker: This sets up a really good conflict between Elizabeth and Donovan Darcy. She is prejudiced against him because of his wealth, assuming he's just like the parents at her school. Ah, okay.
Speaker: This is a great interpretation of the conflict. You know, like we discussed before how it's really hard to get that social conflict into the Darcy and Elizabeth storyline. This is a great way to set that up.
Speaker: That's really clever. Really clever. And as much as I don't love this adaptation, I will give this adaptation props for how this is done. I think it's brilliant. Elizabeth finds out about her suspension and conveniently Barrow calls her, offering her a job in London.
Speaker: Sue has her hands full with four terriers and would like Elizabeth's help to show the dogs during the London season. The London season. Loki, I love this inference that the ladies in the London season back in the day were being shown off like show dogs.
Speaker: So with no job, Elizabeth of course says yes. And of course, guess who lives across the road from the Barrows House in London? But Donovan Darcy. Oh, how convenient. Once we're in London, we meet a couple of additional characters.
Speaker: Donovan's best friend is named Henry Robson, aka our Mr Bingley. Henry is a lawyer and is as charming and friendly as he is in Pride and Prejudice. He is a provisional dog show judge, so he's around at the competitions, and it's how he meets Jenna.
Speaker: His sister, Helena Robson, is also here. She's basically the rich mean girl used to getting her own way. She's really into Donovan. He uses the phrase borderline sexting to describe her communication with him.
Speaker: Ew. To his credit, Donovan openly says he's not interested, so he's not encouraging the behaviour, but she is continuing to pursue him. Our Lady Catherine character is named Aunt Constance.
Speaker: She makes her appearance once we get to the Pemberley bit. She doesn't have much to do either other than Judge Elizabeth, which, to be fair, is most of Lady Catherine's function in the original. After that initial setup and introducing the characters, this book follows its own plot trajectory.
Speaker: This story is about the romance and the middle of this book is focused on our two leads getting really thirsty for each other while also maintaining that they don't like each other. The worst trope from a romance novels. so I'm going to give you an example.
Speaker: Oh, yes, please. At the dog show in London, Sue and Elizabeth are showing the terriers and bliss. Darcy is there supervising Henry as he judges. When the terrier judging commences, Donovan goes over to, I'm using air quotes here, support Henry in his judging, but really he just wants to get closer to Elizabeth.
Speaker: Donovan starts flirting with her by reciting the breeding standards for Border Terriers, which he soon discovers are quote-unquote laced with innuendo. um so I'm sorry, what?
Speaker: The dog show guidelines are sexy now? I'm not joking. No. No. Who thinks these things are laced with innuendo? And while Donovan is reciting the breeding standards, Elizabeth thinks he's teasing her, but not actually flirting.
Speaker: And Henry Robson is standing in between them completely confused because at this point he hasn't met Elizabeth yet. So this scene made me look up the actual breeding standards for Border Terriers.
Speaker: We love some sideline research. Read them to me in your sexiest voice. I'm not doing that because the book's right. What? Yes. So I found the breeding standards on both the yeah UK and Australian Kennel Club websites.
Speaker: Uh-huh. To be fair, a tiny bit of literary license is taken with some of the wording, but it does in fact say that the terrier's hindquarters should be racy. The standards are linked in the show notes if you wish to learn more.
Speaker: wow There's no good segue out of that, but the next hundred or so pages of the book don't really have much to do with Pride and Prejudice. Sure, Jenna comes to London and meets Henry and they start dating, but they have zero impact on the plot.
Speaker: Donovan doesn't even try and stop their relationship. Oh. Jenna does deliver the Darcy letter towards the end, which we'll get to, but Jenna's role is basically accompanying Elizabeth places.
Speaker: We don't get that deep sister friendship. They mostly talk about how hot the guys are. ah So Jenna's a sexy lamp. but So, you know, the Bechdel test? Yes.
Speaker: So it's a similar thing to that. But if the female lead character can be replaced by a sexy lamp, then what's the point of her being there? Oh, that's brilliant. Jenna's a sexy lamp.
Speaker: Kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She's a sexy lamp who delivers a letter. So she's a sexy postmistress. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have more impact on the plot than Jenna.
Speaker: Bliss is how Donovan and Elizabeth meet at the New Jersey dog show. Elizabeth meets Donovan again in London because he's out walking his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The dogs are the reason they go on a couple of walking dates, see each other at the dog shows and get photographed in public making out.
Speaker: Great. So actually, we're wrong. Jenna isn't Jane. Bliss is. Bliss is Jane. And possibly Charlotte as well. Yeah, pretty much. Great. Love that for them.
Speaker: We've got a new trope, sexy dog. Oh, boy. So this is where UK tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mail, comes in. How exciting.
Speaker: Because Donovan Darcy is apparently one of England's most eligible bachelors, his comings and goings are reported on by this paper. Their first appearance in the Daily Mail happens because Donovan takes Elizabeth out to cheer her up, taking her to his favourite place in the world, Harrods Pet Kingdom.
Speaker: I've put links into the show notes about this place. It closed in 2015. It sounds wild. It was wild. I went in 1999 as a 13-year-old and I saw a toucan for sale.
Speaker: A toucan. One thing leads to another and they end up at a champagne bar and a photographed making out. The next day, Sue and Jenna happen to mention she's in the paper.
Speaker: The caption says that she is Darcy's unidentified female companion and mentioned he's rumoured to be engaged to Helena Robson. Of course, instead of having a conversation with Donovan about this, Elizabeth assumes it's true and gets mad at him.
Speaker: Of course. Romance trope's gonna trope. Let's go. They then photographed making out again at the next dog show, which is like the next day, which freaks Elizabeth out. She's worried that if people find out who she is, Grant Markham's lies will be more widely known and her reputation will be destroyed.
Speaker: She can't understand why Donovan is so cavalier.
Speaker: That's dreadful. I love it. I couldn't help it. Donovan's just ignoring the pictures, but Elizabeth is worried about them. So it's a good setup again for that conflict between the two of them. Yeah, it makes sense. Rich guy with no worries. He doesn't care. He can buy his way out of trouble.
Speaker: Oh, wait for it. The Daily Mail is mostly an exposition device, but it also creates some of the conflict. Though I also feel like it wouldn't have been necessary if Donovan and Elizabeth had an actual conversation instead of vaguely fighting and making out in public.
Speaker: So after the making out, the Daily Mail and some dog shows, we have our Pemberley section and the first proposal all wrapped into one. Wow, that's ah ticking quite a few boxes there. Yeah, we move fast.
Speaker: In one of these semi-public make-out sessions, Donovan invites Elizabeth to spend the upcoming bonfire weekend with him at his estate, which is named Chadwick. Chadwick? Chadwick.
Speaker: Chadwick. What? There is an explanation of Bonfire Night in the show notes. Donovan invites her, but Elizabeth says no. After everything that's happened with her school, the thought of spending a weekend at a country estate with all of Donovan's rich family and friends freaks Elizabeth out.
Speaker: Probably a good choice because rich English people are weird. But Donovan can't believe she's turning him down. He concludes that there's more than one way to get her there and uses Henry's budding romance with Jenna to make sure Jenna brings her along.
Speaker: Which is the perfect segue to discuss the focus of this adaptation, the Bennett-Darcy romance. In Pride and Prejudice, we find out early on that Fitzwilliam Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth Bennett from the narration.
Speaker: When I reread the original book before we started the podcast, I was surprised how early we as readers find out. It was like page 21 in my copy that Fitzwilliam Darcy acknowledges Elizabeth Bennett is attractive.
Speaker: But to me, there are some major red flags with how Donovan interacts with Elizabeth. I am not familiar with romance book plot conventions, so I'm willing to concede that some of these criticisms on my part might well be accepted as tropes within the genre, and that's okay.
Speaker: Donovan Darcy is always commenting on Elizabeth's appearance in his narration. He's intrigued by her, especially because she's not interested in his money. Now, Elizabeth also thinks about him a lot.
Speaker: Honestly, they are so thirsty. But Elizabeth says she's worried that he's rich and powerful and used to getting his own way. That right now Donovan wants her, which like is exactly what's happening.
Speaker: Donovan is relentless in how he pursues Elizabeth. He actively ignores her no about coming to Chadwick because why would she mean no He also ignores her first no response when they're at Chadwick when he decides they're spending the afternoon together. Code for sleeping together.
Speaker: There is consent on both sides before anything happens, but the situation feels really icky to me. Elizabeth's fears are kind of true. Donovan wants her and won't let anything stop him.
Speaker: Oh no. This is the worst romance trope. I have read a few romance novels over the years and of course I am culturally aware of things like Fifty Shades of Grey where the term consent does not exist and the word no and all of her safe words are also meaningless.
Speaker: I hate it. I hate it so much and I do not understand why people find it sexy. I find it weird and icky and no It's just, I find it so gross.
Speaker: There is nothing sexy about a man violating your boundaries. Can we stop with this, please? And I realize all of the book talk girlies are going to start coming for me and all of the dark romance people are going to start coming for me, but I don't like it.
Speaker: It's also worth noting here that while Donovan is pursuing Elizabeth, Helena is pursuing Donovan. One of these situations we're supposed to be cheering for and the other one we aren't.
Speaker: See? And this just makes it worse because now it's just misogynistic bull crap because, oh, it's weird and icky when a woman won't take no for an answer, but it's totally fine when the sexy brooding billionaire won't take no for an answer.
Speaker: I'm sorry. Make up your mind. As readers, we learn that Donovan is generous and kind well before Elizabeth does. He is genuinely sweet multiple times, but to me, this does not undo the creepiness factor.
Speaker: The story relies on a lot of the goodwill that we as Pride and Prejudice readers carry for the Darcy character, which, like we've discussed in some of the other adaptations, the Darcy character gets away with a lot of bad behavior because he's a Darcy.
Speaker: Yes, exactly. When Elizabeth says no to him, he backs off. That's the thing. He backs off. And when he goes to give her the letter, the first thing he says in the letter is, don't worry, this isn't me pushing your boundaries. I just have to explain some things. And then right at the end, what makes the second proposal so sexy?
Speaker: He's like, hey, you say no again. i will literally never speak about this ever again. You get the option here to say no, but I just wanted to check in and see if maybe you changed your mind.
Speaker: He is actively asking for consent. Why is this something that was understood in the 19th century and in the 21st century, we just still can't seem to wrap our heads around it?
Speaker: Back to the story. The purpose of the weekend away is a charity polo match and gala ball. Over the weekend, Elizabeth does get to know more about Donovan, but from other people, not from Donovan.
Speaker: She finally learns that both of Donovan's parents are dead, as previously mentioned, not much talking, mostly snogging, and he basically adopted his sister Zara. Elizabeth slowly starts to fall for Donovan because she can see past her first impressions, and like many modern Pemberley adaptations, they hook up and then attend the ball together.
Speaker: To complicate the drama, Helena Robson is there, and she's bringing a date. Her date is… the married Grant Markham. oh Oh, yes, I wondered when he was going to come back into it.
Speaker: Interesting approach. I quite like it. So, at the ball, there's a confrontation where Grant tells Donovan that he and Elizabeth were intimate friends, gross and a lie,
Speaker: and he threatens to tell everyone there his versions of the event. Grant also says he surprised the Donovans with Elizabeth, given she's quite a bit below his position in life. Surely he would be more interested being with Helena instead.
Speaker: What? Why is he acting like the gay bestie who's like wingmanning her? why Why is this happening? Surely he can't hate Elizabeth that much. Rich people surely just get bored with this kind of thing. i Like, oh, I've ruined her life. I'll just move on.
Speaker: Because plot? Because plot. because Because plot. Donovan then turns on Helena for inviting Grant along. And Helena says that she had to do it to show Donovan that Elizabeth wasn't good enough for him.
Speaker: ah Sure, Jan. Again, i must give credit to Unleashing Mr. Darcy for how it handles the Wickham scandal. Grant Markham is Wickham level gross and how he ruins Elizabeth's reputation is a great adaptation set in the modern day.
Speaker: But now we jump to this story's version of the first proposal. Donovan finds Elizabeth. She's run out in all of the chaos because she's embarrassed and they finally talk.
Speaker: And Elizabeth tells him about what happened at the school. Donovan can't believe the school believed Grant and fired her. At which point Elizabeth says what she's been thinking the entire time.
Speaker: You're rich. You are one of them. And Donovan finally realizes why it was so hard to earn her trust. Yay for communication! Oh my god, who would have thought just sitting down and actually talking about something instead of making wild assumptions?
Speaker: So naturally, after that small breakthrough, Donovan Darcy decides that this is the perfect moment to actually propose. My guy, no We are 80% of the way through the book.
Speaker: And after learning what Elizabeth has been through and knowing her for like a month, this has taken place over the course of about a month.
Speaker: Cool, cool. We've been making out for a while. I've ignored all of your boundaries. We've had our first proper actual conversation. i guess that means we're husband and wife now.
Speaker: Yes, because once she's his wife, no one would dare say anything against her. Shut up. I know meant to be like out of touch, but when has being rich and connected ever stopped a woman being torn to shreds by the Daily Mail?
Speaker: Literally never. So like Elizabeth predicted, and indeed Steph predicted earlier in this podcast, he's trying to solve the problem with money after hearing what she's just said.
Speaker: I'm a psychic. And this is why I never watch romance movies either, because five minutes in i'm like, this is what's going to happen. Elizabeth declares there is no way that he's in love with her. Correct.
Speaker: That he's a man who's used to getting what he wants, and what he wants right now is her. And she's not wrong. She walks away and heads back to London. Hooray, good decision making. But this is Pride and Prejudice, so we know what's coming.
Speaker: Finally a good decision and going to immediately get cancelled out. Yes, it is. The Darcy letter is hand-delivered by Jenna. Not only does she have the letter from Donovan for Elizabeth, but she's also engaged to Henry, after knowing Henry for less time than Donovan and Elizabeth have known each other.
Speaker: Good. Strong. I really enjoy when the one thing that they keep from the original is the absurdly short timelines for people getting married. So this version of the Darcy letter, it does contain an apology for how he handled things with their relationship.
Speaker: Tick. He apologises for what happened with both Helena and Grant. Tick, sort of. It's not really his responsibility, but still tick. He also apologizes for how he handled the evening of the ball and proposing.
Speaker: Big tick. He recognizes that Elizabeth leaving was mostly about him and not what happened with Helena. Yes, big tick. We finally got some reflection. But he ends up by saying what he should have said at the ball was that he's loved her since he first laid eyes on her in America and all he wanted to do was set the record straight.
Speaker: To the character's credit, there is some reflection here. But really, the letter is about re-declaring his feelings. Boo! No! what What do you do to dogs? I'm going whack him on the end of the nose with a rolled up newspaper. No!
Speaker: So the situation with Grant Markham, aka our Wickham scandal, is solved in the next section. Elizabeth gets a letter from her old school containing an apology and offering her job back with a significant pay rise, which is all she's ever wanted, right?
Speaker: Well... ah Not anymore. She turns it down and decides to stay in London to get a new job. And while Lydia isn't the one to spill the tea about Darcy saving the day, the Daily Mail comes to the rescue again, a sentence I didn't think I'd ever say. Wow.
Speaker: There's a photo of Donovan in New York delivering a donation to a private school. Elizabeth realises that Donovan bought her old job back for her, restoring her reputation, so he must truly love her.
Speaker: Shut up. No, this isn't this is not his hero moment. Are you kidding me? This is the hero moment. Oh my god, no. This is usually the moment in romance novels where the woman is like, oh, I'm sorry, you think money solves everything. I've actually just realised that you're a massive prat and I'm going to go and marry the poor guy because he's actually a good person.
Speaker: That's usually what happens at this moment. I am so disappointed. Our final chapters take place back where the story began, at a dog show. Donovan is judging the dogs and believes Elizabeth is on her way back to the US s because she has her job back now.
Speaker: But lo and behold, there she is. There's an odd bit next, just before the ending, where a steward calls Elizabeth and Donovan aside and says that there has been a conflict of interest with Donovan judging Elizabeth's dogs because they're in a relationship.
Speaker: It's a fair point, though apparently it's not actually a conflict of interest according to Donovan and his encyclopedic knowledge of kennel club rules, but to avoid potential scandal, Donovan withdraws from the judging of the rest of the day.
Speaker: How chivalrous. Elizabeth takes to the floor with Bliss for her round of judging. And, of course, Bliss wins all the awards.
Speaker: Best of breed, best of group, and best of show. Hooray! Hooray! Which is what Elizabeth's been aiming for this entire book, right? But all she can do is lament that cavalier-loving Donovan isn't there to see them win.
Speaker: At which point, guess who steps up from behind all of the judges and asks to award her the prize? Donovan the creeper has been watching the competition but didn't want to be the judge and cause a scandal if she won.
Speaker: Which, okay, props for listening and learning. No, no props. Because the implication here is that he just paid the judges. I'm sorry. This is my conspiracy theory and I'm sticking to it. If he paid her old school to get her job back, he's absolutely not above paying all of those other judges to be like, my girlfriend wants to win. I can't be a judge, but you need to make her win.
Speaker: Okay, yeah, see, that didn't even cross my mind. Bribery man gonna bribe. But also, side note that I've just thought of, how is he any better than the Wickham stand-in who offered a bribe to get his son to pass a subject so that he could be the sports captain for whichever horrible sport they were talking about?
Speaker: How is that any different to Donovan going and bribing them to get her job back? I think the only difference is that, so there's this whole thing as well with the school board, which I didn't really go into. Mrs. Markham is on the school board.
Speaker: ah So after the events with Helena and Grant in London, my best guess is Donovan goes to the school board and says, so your husband is lying because this is what's happened. Yeah.
Speaker: I think the only reason that it becomes okay is the fact that he's telling the truth. Telling the truth and greasing palms with like hundreds of thousands of dollars. So bribery is fine when it's the good guy doing it for quote unquote the right reasons.
Speaker: So naturally in front of everyone at the dog show, Donovan Darcy gets down on one knee in the middle of the show ring in a room full of witnesses and proposes again. And Elizabeth says yes, the end.
Speaker: Steph is staring at me, just deadly silent, guys. Oh, that's awful. Oh, public proposals where you feel obligated to say yes because otherwise, oh no.
Speaker: Also like way to steal her moment. Say that he didn't bribe them and say that this was her big moment. He stole her moment. I found it difficult when I was reading it, the fact that all she could do is like, oh my goodness, Bliss is through to the next round. Oh my goodness, she's going to win and was really excited. But all she could think in her interior monologue was, where's Donovan?
Speaker: No, that's absolutely not happening. If someone is that obsessed with dogs and stuff, like you can still be in love with someone and put that aside and just be excited that your dog just won. I'm assuming this is meant to be like Crufts that she's at, like the biggest dog show in the world.
Speaker: If your dog wins at Westminster, you're not thinking about anything else. So that's the book. And now we pivot to the film adaptation. Now, before we start, I have a confession to make.
Speaker: I don't like Hallmark movies. I know lots of people love them. The films are a massive hit of dopamine where you know everything will work out okay. The leads will get together and good will prevail.
Speaker: If you're a fan of Hallmark movies, there's no judgment from me. Everyone loves their own thing. But for me, I find them way too fake. You're in a safe place. I have also just previously admitted to not enjoying romance movies, but we're not here to yuck anyone's yum. You love them? Go for it.
Speaker: Continue to love them. I personally love terrible action films, as Melinda can tell you. She definitely does. So when the trailer for this film starts with, let me try and do my Hallmark voice, he's got too much pride and she might be a little prejudiced.
Speaker: I knew I was in trouble. oh Also, that impression was spot on. I love it. So side note, they actually don't say prejudiced. They literally say she might be a little prejudiced because clearly you don't know which book we're talking about if you make it grammatically correct. Oh, no.
Speaker: Just reword the sentence, guys. So prejudice makes sense. If you thought Elizabeth and Donovan moved fast in the book, buckle up because this movie is under 90 minutes long and they're together in the end.
Speaker: 90 minutes? Under 90 minutes. It's like a TV show. All right, let's have a crack at this timeline. Let's go. So what worked in this movie adaptation? Because the film is short, there are some simplifications to the plot.
Speaker: Sue Barrow, so our Aunt Gardner character, is now Mrs Scott's longtime friend, Aunt Gabriel from New York. You know, that friend of your parents that you call aunt or uncle.
Speaker: So there's no moving to England. While it's sort of implied, but I haven't actually mentioned, that Sue Barrow is trying to set up Donovan and Elizabeth in the book, Aunt Gabriel is all in.
Speaker: There are literally two shots of Gabriel after she does something to set them up, where she half looks at the camera, raises her teacup in front of her face, and smirks. Oh!
Speaker: We love a bit of fourth wall breaking. Yeah. The Grant Markham bit works quite well too. We actually see Grant trying to bribe Elizabeth at the start of the film, so it sets up her unease around Donovan.
Speaker: The plot also simplifies Donovan's family. His Aunt Violet, she's now named Violet, which is our Aunt Constance Lady Catherine stand-in, is far more present. Aunt Violet is played by Frances Fisher, who played Rose's mother in the 1997 classic Titanic, so she is Kate Winslet's mum in that film.
Speaker: Oh, she's a great actress. She plays evil matriarch very well. She would. don't know why she's in this movie. She's fabulous. So Aunt Violet and now Felicity, not Helena Robson, are the main villains of this movie, not Donovan's Pride or Elizabeth's Prejudice.
Speaker: These two women are actively scheming to keep Elizabeth and Donovan apart, while Gabriel schemes to get them together. Wow, so they really did just take the concept and go full Hallmark with it.
Speaker: Pretty much. But for me, that's all that worked with this movie. Hallmarkiness of the film aside, there are some key things that just don't work for me.
Speaker: The lack of lowercase p pride, lowercase p prejudice, Donovan and Elizabeth's relationship, and the entire ending. The central conflict of Pride and Prejudice works because Fitzwilliam Darcy is at first rude to Elizabeth Bennet, and she jumps to the conclusion on the evidence she has that he is a rich snob.
Speaker: pride and prejudice set up immediately. In the movie, Elizabeth thinks Donovan is rude, even though she's late for the dog show judging. That bit remains the same. But shortly after, Elizabeth learns that Donovan is generous and kind.
Speaker: He's photographed at a charity gala, and Aunt Gabriel proudly tells Elizabeth that he advises the White House on philanthropy.
Speaker: Because that's how that works. That's definitely how that works. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely there's a philanthropy correspondent in the White House.
Speaker: I thought you'd like that bit. Oh, that's fabulous. So Elizabeth has the evidence that Donovan's a nicer guy than her first impression almost from the start, which means she can't be prejudiced or prejudice against him.
Speaker: Also, Donovan's not really proud. He's rude a few times, but he's not proud. So there's no real pride, no real prejudice, and no relationship conflict. What's even stranger to say, which You your guys are going to find this hilarious given everything I've just said.
Speaker: How do I put this? So Hallmark movies are very sanitized, clean. Ironically, while I didn't like the amount of flirting and making out in the book, once you take that out, the story gets real flat.
Speaker: There's very little interaction between the two leads other than in the dog show judging. They attempt the innuendo-laced reading of the dog breed standards, but because this is Hallmark, Donovan just sounds like he's saying nice things about dogs.
Speaker: Continue. He literally like half looks at the camera when he says it and starts doing it. and It's like, this is clearly here for the book, girlies, but it does not work at all. Oh my God. And they don't even talk to get to know each other.
Speaker: Multiple times, Jenna has to say how Elizabeth's energy has been electrified since she met Donovan, but we don't see it. But the major downfall for me is how the plot is adapted for the second half of the film.
Speaker: This movie broke my brain. So you all have to hear it to understand why, as a Pride and Prejudice adaptation, this doesn't work. right, we're ready. The film starts the same as the book.
Speaker: Elizabeth and Donovan meet at a dog show. Elizabeth learns she's lost her teaching job and moves to stay with Aunt Gabriel and help show Gabriel's dogs. But because this is New York, there's no Daily Mail but an independent website called Brownstone Gossip, which has its own team of photographers.
Speaker: Yeah, sure. Again, like we mentioned a couple of episodes, Steph and I met while working in publishing slash media. This is not a thing. It's absolutely not a thing. Even TMZ doesn't have its own photographers, but brownstone gossip does.
Speaker: Aunt Gabriel calls them to take photos of Donovan and Elizabeth at the dog spa. So there is still a dog spa. They still meet up. That's where one of the first photos are taken. The photo is so innocuous.
Speaker: Like there's zero making out. He's holding a towel up to her face because she got wet with water. But that photo is considered so threatening that Aunt Violet storms over to Aunt Gabriel's house and yells at Elizabeth to stay away from Donovan.
Speaker: what I feel like they were trying to go for like the same impact as like, you know, the beginning in Crazy Rich Asians where they get papped having coffee. And then that is like the the photo that reverberates around like Singaporean society.
Speaker: i I can understand where they were trying to go with that, but also wiping her face with a towel is just, what's the implication? What is he meant to be wiping off her face in a public place?
Speaker: Basically a dog shakes and water splashes on her face. So he goes to get a towel, but they're really close together. So apparently it's the perceived closeness. Wow. Couldn't even throw a little like peck on the lips in there.
Speaker: So it's because of this photo and likely some Aunt Violet meddling, I could actually see that being a thing here, that the dog show club steward calls out Donovan for a conflict of interest and says that Elizabeth can't show dogs anymore while he judges because they're in a relationship.
Speaker: So this part works quite well. It again sets up that class conflict. The fact that it's untrue reinforces Elizabeth's idea that the rich and powerful people get their own way.
Speaker: It's actually a great change. But what it sets up, oh boy, for context, this happens at the 51 minute mark. So there are under 40 minutes left in this film.
Speaker: What? We haven't even had Proposal 1 yet. Wait for it. Oh, ah Okay. Elizabeth prepares move home since she can't show the dogs anymore, in an attempt to apologize, keep her around, for plot.
Speaker: Donovan says he's going out of town for a week and wants to employ Elizabeth to look after his newborn cavalier puppies, She accepts. Jenna then asks Elizabeth to come away with her for the weekend to a charity gala that Henry has invited her to.
Speaker: Elizabeth says no because she has a job looking after puppies and Aunt Gabriel steps in and says, no, it's fine. I'll look after them overnight. Go and have fun at the gala. Of course, the gala is at the Darcy Estate, but Elizabeth doesn't know it's the Darcy Estate because Jenna didn't tell her.
Speaker: And no one seemingly checked with the hosts if it was okay for her to bring a guest, so everyone is surprised when she turns up. Massive L there, Jenna. What the hell?
Speaker: Massive L. Later that day, Elizabeth is exploring the estate when suddenly a wild Felicity Robson appears. Felicity goes full villain monologue out of nowhere and says that Elizabeth deserves everything that's coming to her.
Speaker: Just to check, that's Caroline, right? Yes. Okay, that's Caroline who became Helena who became Felicity. Oh my God, okay, yeah. The ball is the same minus the hooking up.
Speaker: Grant Markham turns up and his hallmark version of Sleazy, Donovan and Henry confront Grant and force him to leave. Elizabeth declares she doesn't belong in Donovan's world and that Violet and Felicity brought Grant to get rid of her.
Speaker: Then Donovan says to Elizabeth that they should, quote, shut them all up and kisses her out of nowhere and everyone claps.
Speaker: And then front of everyone, Donovan says, and I quote, anyone playing the game of will he or won't he propose to Felicity Robson has their answer.
Speaker: It is petty and vindictive and he uses this to kick Felicity and Violet from the party. What? What is happening? It's a complete character assassination.
Speaker: Oh my god. Oh no. That's so classless. It's gross. Like it's literally they're standing there dancing together. It's the first time they've held hands the entire movie and he decides to kiss her to shut them all up.
Speaker: That's so cheap and disgusting and just like you're supposed to love this woman, not be using her for a prop in your weird proxy war with the woman who's trying to trap you into marriage.
Speaker: That's icky. Very. So at this point, there's under 15 minutes left of the film, and we haven't even gotten to the first proposal yet.
Speaker: I'm watching Steph's brain break in real time. Now I understand why you were just like, oh my god, this movie, I can't do this. After the drama, Elizabeth leaves the ball and goes up to her room.
Speaker: Jenna then overhears Henry talking to Donovan. Donovan tells Henry he only kissed Elizabeth to get rid of his Aunt Violet. And why would he like Elizabeth anyway? Henry pushes back, saying Donovan does actually like her.
Speaker: And then they giggle. So in terms of insulting Elizabeth, A+. There are two bros in bow ties with glasses of whiskey talking about women, and it's gross. ah I'm sorry, this scene's meant to happen at the beginning.
Speaker: Why is it happening now, like 10 minutes from the end? I think this is literally the bad proposal. Oh, what? Well, it's the only thing that works, right? Because of what happens next.
Speaker: Jenna's heard enough and she runs upstairs to get Elizabeth and get them to leave. They run back downstairs. Donovan intercepts them. He's like, why are you leaving? And Jenna says they're not sticking around for him to use her sister. Yes.
Speaker: Go Jenna. Good decisions. We are happy. Good decisions. Let's see how they ruin them. All right, let's go. Donovan admits he did say some unflattering things about her, but if Janet had kept listening, she would have heard him admit he loves Elizabeth and has decided they belong together.
Speaker: Elizabeth understandably gets mad. Them being together should be both their decision. So the sisters leave. Hooray! movie should have ended here, but this is Pride and Prejudice, supposedly, so we know what's coming next.
Speaker: Just... Yes! Yes, that is where the movie should have ended. wow where i'm ra It doesn't matter if I say mean terrible things about you. because i love you.
Speaker: Donovan's letter arrives by messenger and Jenna takes it for some reason to make sure that Elizabeth reads it. In the letter, Donovan thanks Elizabeth for challenging him, always being honest and redeclares his love for her.
Speaker: Zero reflection on why they left, zero character growth. Elizabeth concludes it's just a letter from a powerful man who has found something he wants but can't have. And she's right.
Speaker: Correct. That is correct. That is absolutely what is happening. And this is the point where you go, hmm, rich and powerful guy. Not my style. I'm going to marry someone poor who's nice to me. Oh wait for it.
Speaker: The sisters head back to Washington DC. Didn't actually mention that's where they were originally from, the story takes place in New York. Where Mrs Scott, so our Mrs Bennett, can't believe that Elizabeth said no to Donovan.
Speaker: In this universe, owning an exclusive bridal shop means Mrs Scott has manila folders with files on rich people. So naturally, she has a file on Donovan and can show Elizabeth how generous he is. But Elizabeth already knows that he advises the White House on philanthropy, so what's new?
Speaker: So she's a romance spy now? She has dossiers on... what? It helps her sell bridal gowns, apparently. The file's full of rich people. What, so the women are coming in and buying a ball gown and then she hands them a dossier and they're like, by the way, this is the dude gonna marry?
Speaker: Go get him, girly. have no idea, honestly. i like i just like the idea of her having, like, a filing cabinet of rich people. So funny. Elizabeth, of course, gets her teaching job back, but she turns it down because now she can see the real Donovan and is now in love with him.
Speaker: Elizabeth calls Donovan, leaving a voicemail, apologising for how she left and declaring that she loves him too. For context, Steph is currently staring into space with her mouth agape.
Speaker: She apologises to him. Elizabeth moves back to New York to get Donovan back. Back from where? Back from hell? Where he belongs?
Speaker: We get a final dog show where Elizabeth enters bliss. And there, waiting to judge the Cavaliers, is Donovan, which it's suddenly fine that he's judging her dogs out of nowhere.
Speaker: There's a floral rotunda, a crowd of people. Donovan says he enjoyed Elizabeth's satisfyingly contrite voice message. Wait, hold it, Steph. They declare their love for each other, kiss, everyone claps, the music swells, and that's the end. Okay, let fly, Stephanie.
Speaker: What do you mean mean? Oh my god. Just the layers? Just let let's peel them back. She apologizes to him. He tells her that he enjoyed the apology. He has had zero self-reflection.
Speaker: None of the character growth that happened in the novel, even though it was terrible, happens here. i don't, i don't understand what are these people trying to say about relationships.
Speaker: All this does is undermine the central relationship and it just makes the whole thing feel icky. We are cheering when Jenna and Elizabeth leave the house. Yes. And we shouldn't be.
Speaker: Elizabeth Bennet isn't contrite. She thanks Fitzwilliam Darcy for saving her family's reputation and is aware of the sacrifice it cost him to do so. He was selfless and did it secretly for her.
Speaker: She's had to grow as a character too and does not expect a renewal of his addresses but is grateful for him as a person. Only once there's been character growth on both sides does Fitzwilliam Darcy redeclare his love.
Speaker: What Donovan said about Elizabeth and how he used her to fend off Felicity and Violet was wrong. It is a major red flag and Elizabeth is rightly upset.
Speaker: So why is she the one that's apologizing? The way movie Donovan acts is gross and I didn't want them to end up together, which is really bad for something that is supposed to be Pride and Prejudice.
Speaker: Exactly. I have nothing to add to that because you are so spot on. This is crazy. Even for a Hallmark movie, this is absurd. So like her aunt pulls out a weird dossier, creepy, and says, oh, but he's into philanthropy. And suddenly that makes everything that he's done to her okay?
Speaker: I'm sorry? Wasn't the whole moral of the thing at the beginning that rich people do whatever they want? And it's bad. So why is it suddenly good? So that's the movie.
Speaker: It's not my type of movie, but all the comments on the trailers and the extra features on YouTube are really positive, so people clearly love this. So much so, and it's done well enough that it actually has a sequel that came out in 2018 called cold mr darcy Oh my God, spammy.
Speaker: Please tell me you didn't watch it. i have not watched it. have no desire to watch it even for this podcast.
Speaker: Yeah, sorry guys, there are some things we just won't do. I mean, if I get peer pressured enough and you want to hear my brain break again, maybe, but I have no desire to watch this film. um So before we get to my rating, I've devised a little game.
Speaker: i have some quotes here from the book, Unleashing Mr. Darcy. And I'd like you to tell me if these quotes are describing Elizabeth Scott, Donovan Darcy, or a dog. All right.
Speaker: All right. I'm ready. I love this game already. So these are quote fragments because if I included the whole quote, the context would give away the answer, but play along at home, everyone.
Speaker: I'll start off easy. Sweaty palms forget how to breathe handsome. Donovan. Yes, that one was Darcy. Exceptionally fine eyes.
Speaker: Dog. Man, you got it. I was really hoping that one would throw you. So, Elizabeth's dog, Bliss, has fine eyes, has fine eyes.
Speaker: To be fair, Elizabeth's eyes are called fine later, but the first instance is the dog. All right, let's go. and Two for two. Feeling a little shaken and more than a little stirred.
Speaker: Ew. Okay. Shaken and stirred. James Bond reference? Yes, that's correct. Donovan. So it's technically Elizabeth. She is feeling a little shaken and a little stirred because they're talking about Donovan having attended the James Bond School of Charm.
Speaker: I reiterate, ew. All right, this one's a little bit longer. There is a fine sprinkling of freckles, the exact colour of cinnamon, across Blank's nose, giving Blank the same inviting quality as a pastry dusted with sugar and spice.
Speaker: I do want to throw up. um I'm going to say Elizabeth. Yeah, you're right. That's awful. Yeah, it kind of sounds like it should be a dog. That's why i threw that one in there. It does sound like it should be a It's Elizabeth.
Speaker: yeah Dark eyes full of intelligence and fire. Dog. Yeah, that one's a dog. Yes! That is one of Terrier's during the infamous Breeding Standards recitation.
Speaker: Great. Blank's kennel has excellent bloodlines. Donovan. Yes. A lopsided smile.
Speaker: We can't be the dogs because they have to be perfectly symmetrical. Elizabeth. That one's Darcy. So nice try. One miss.
Speaker: Nose as pink as a rosebud. Dog. Elizabeth. Shut up. Why is her nose pink? Is she sunburned?
Speaker: Beautiful, witty, and utterly bewitching. Elizabeth. Yes, that one's correct. So you missed, you only missed one. That was pretty good. Well done. Thought I might actually get you a couple of times with those, but unfortunately i did not.
Speaker: I am unfortunately very good at this game and I do not know what that says about me. It's okay. I hope you guys did well too, because honestly, it's kind of funny. And now it's time for my rating.
Speaker: Look, for me, the book is barely tolerable. It's not my cup of tea, but it might be yours. Like many modern Pride and Prejudice adaptations, this story focuses just on the romance.
Speaker: Yes, his last name is Darcy. Yes, her first name is Elizabeth, and they fall in lust over the course of a story. There's really no relationship built. so They both like dogs and making out in public places, and they're engaged by the end.
Speaker: The book and film do hit on a couple of Pride and Prejudice plot points. Grant Markham and the Teaching Scandal as Wickham subplot is really well done. So if you want a book with cute dogs and two leads called Darcy and Elizabeth and the character stuff doesn't matter to you, you might find this fun.
Speaker: This might be your undeceived. I love that book, but I can also see how other people may not like it. And my verdict on the movie? Well, that's most seriously displeased.
Speaker: To the film's credit, some changes to the plot worked well, but most of them really did not and undermined the Elizabeth Donovan relationship. By stripping out, lol, the more adult elements of the book...
Speaker: The romance feels fake. It sounds fake. Especially when Elizabeth and Donovan don't really talk instead. We should be seeing and sparks flying instead of being told that sparks are flying by other characters.
Speaker: And Elizabeth Bennet is never satisfyingly contrite. Donovan deserved being called out. But look, if you like Hallmark movies, I'm sure you'll like this one. I can't judge on that. ah that So the end of the episode. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed.
Speaker: Please share Jane Austen Remixed with your friends, family, literary fans and Janeites. We love exploring this corner of the literary world with you. You can follow us on Instagram at Jane Austen Remixed, all one word.
Speaker: If you have a question or a suggestion for a book or movie or something you'd like us to cover, drop us a line. You can email us at Jane Austen Remixed at gmail.com. Join us in two weeks when we examine The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taup.
Speaker: And just to finish off Melinda, the most important question of the entire episode, does this Darcy dive into a lake? Not a lake, but a lap pool at Chadwick during the Pemberley section of the story. No.
Speaker: A lap pool? A lap pool. I have to recount both instances because they are different. Okay. In the movie, a Elizabeth has just arrived at the estate, which, remember for context, no one knows she's showing up, and walks out onto the deck and is watching Donovan climb out of the pool, which is how she realises whose estate she is at.
Speaker: Gross and creepy. Donovan has been swimming and climbs out of the pool to make a chess move in a game he's playing against his sister. It's then that they all realise Elizabeth is here and the actor playing Donovan is just standing there shirtless while everyone else is fully clothed and it's never addressed.
Speaker: He climbs out of a pool to make a move in a chess game. Why does this sound like something that would happen in oh my God, what's that?
Speaker: Those ads for that men's fragrance where he does all the weird things. Look at me. Look away. Oh, Old Spice. Old Spice. The Old Spice Man. I wasn't expecting that to come up in this episode, but here we are.
Speaker: This sounds like a scene from an Old Spice ad. It sounds like, could your man do this? And he climbs out of the pool and like wins a chess game. Yeah, against his sister.
Speaker: But he's the only one shirtless. That was the bit that got me is everyone else is fully clothed. He's just in these like little boxes and has gotten out of the pool, makes a move and then just literally stands there in silence while everyone debates the fact that Elizabeth is there.
Speaker: Good. So that's the movie version. what happens in the book? In the book, the author says in her introduction that she purposefully included this nod to the lake scene.
Speaker: Elizabeth and Jenna are given rooms for the weekend at Chadwick, and Jenna's room overlooks the lap pool. While discussing the merits of Donovan and his generosity, Jenna looks out the window to see the man in question, swimming laps in the pool.
Speaker: He decides to get out of the pool And let's just say, true to form for this book, the scene is very thirsty and involves several comments about his speedo.
Speaker: Delightful. Yeah. why is it Why is he in speedos? Is he a child? I can't tell you. i don't know. okay cool. It just became weird and creepy.
Speaker: So on that happy note, see you next episode.
Speaker: you
