Not that the movie was bad. But the obvious tie to the Jane Austin classic was done with purposeful deceit and knowing chicanery.
Picture this…a holiday film based in snowy upstate New York. A rich young executive selling the home his family grew up in. A small town excited for their annual Christmas festival. A young mayor, a party planner, an executive assistant. Would the festival bring cheer to the grumpy cut throat exec?
Okay, sounds like a totally unique and original plot that Hallmark has never used, right?
Now name the house Pemberley, the event planner Elizabeth, the exec Darcy, the event planning agency owner Caroline Bingley and let’s just pretend it matches even remotely to Pride and Prejudice.
I greatly appreciate Pride and Prejudice. I’ve seen about every movie version including all the ones made in Utah. I’ve even read at least 70 pages of the book. The Keira Knightley version is the best.
And Christmas at Pemberley had nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice. The characters didn’t match up, the plot didn’t match up, and the holes were massive.
No Wickham, no giggling sisters, no Mr. Collins, no Lady Catherine or her sickly daughter! No Mr. or Mrs. Bennett! No balls! No breakups! Literally nothing in this show had anything to do with Pride and Prejudice except for naming a couple of characters after the book.
The viewer was left injured. It was a Jack Frost sliver of ice to my heart. The director and story writer have cemented themselves a permanent place on the naughty list. Their shear duplicitous actions cant be undone. The trauma I have faced should be considered punitive.
I know. Let’s remake Bambi and when his mom gets shot let’s call her Mrs. Bennett. That makes Bambi Elizabeth and Thumper Jane. A total and complete Pride and Prejudice spin off.
If they would have just NOT gone down the road of intentional trickery and treachery the show wouldn’t have been that bad. Instead, they got me to watch the flick based on its title, entrapping me in its pretense.
Mr. Director, consider this a strongly worded letter for your chicanery, abuse of Ms. Austin’s classic, and total disregard and respect for the viewer.
Merry Christmas, you jerk!
Oh, and take all that stuff out and it was a decent show, probably Sugar Cookies on the 0-Christmas scale.