A young woman who just remained without a governess, starts playing Cupid with her best friend. Foolish and without experience, she hopes to do a good job but the whole act she's been playing will soon turn against her.It's a film which presents the adventures of a girl who thinks she can be a good matchmaker, especially for her closest friend, whose clumsiness and social position prove to be a big obstacle when talking about marriage with better standing suitors. Although it seemed like a good idea, it turned out to be a big disappointment. The characters lack essence and complexity while the plot is very simplistic, linear and thus predictable. We are faced with multiple awkward moments, bad or even stupid decisions made by the characters, the entire set seeming to be much like a soap opera. Although being described as a comedy, it isn't funny at all... you somehow tend to laugh at the stupidity of the characters, rather than the action itself or the intended or unintended puns. The finale did nothing to improve the overall impression, being as expected as it was dull.It's hard to find good aspects regarding this one, which I simply cannot recommend to anyone, from any point of view. Maybe except the scenery and some of the actors' performance.

If you like the musical "Grease", and I don't, and if you think 19th century British upper crust culture was exciting and vibrant, and I don't, then you might like this movie. This is a view of young people, totally devoid of responsibility, trying to decide who to take to the prom. Wait! ... not the prom, the altar. We constantly see evidence of actual work: the meals are elegantly set, various outdoor venues for embroidery or archery are set, but we only see one servant in the entire movie. He stands perfectly still, out of focus in the background, and has no lines. When the "lower classes" actually move around, they immediately attack 2 defenseless ladies. I'm giving it 3 stars for sets and costumes. The actors mostly hit their marks and remember their lines. There is no passion whatsoever in anything they do. I say, lock them all in their elegantly appointed staterooms in the Titanic.

Emma (1996)I like Gwyneth Paltrow, and I love Jane Austen. (That sounds bad. Sorry Gwyneth.)And this is a great movie for its writing, and a stiff and imperfect movie for its acting. And for Austen fans (and fans is an understatement for some of them) this is almost awful movie. Awful if you love sublime writing and can't stand to see it so wooden. Paltrow is good. She's pretty. She's appropriately upright. But she insists on "delivering" her lines. She has them memorized, yes. But she doesn't inhabit the character. And Emma, the character, is one of the best of all literature, filled with sassy individualism and social blindness due to ordinary teenage arrogance. The material is there, and it's a great story (if you like early 19th Century melodramas bordering on soap opera of the highest level). So, it's not a terrible presentation of the movie, but it is, to be sure, a presentation. I honestly think (and don't tremble in rage here) that Alisha Silverstone in "Clueless" gets the spirit of Emma much closer. There is of course a gap of sensibilities here that I'm ignoring—a girl in 1995 (Silverstone) is no match for a girl in Austen's time. I'll leave that one vague.About "Emma" it's worth saying that the sets and costumes are so convincing you don't really think about them. Everything is brightly lit (which I suppose is a reasonable choice, though it flattens the film emotionally as opposed to, say, the Merchant-Ivory approach). The whole spectacle is spread before the camera lovingly, if a bit predictably. In the end it's Austen who wins. The writing, both in the specific dialog and in the general plot outline, are delicate and witty and insightful. Nothing sensational here, just drawing room observation at its best. Kudos for that much, and a reasonable translation to film. It's Austen who wins all those stars.

Based on the Jane Austen novel, Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) keeps trying to be a matchmaker. Only she is usually wrong in their lives and in her own life.It is possibly one of the funnier Jane Austen movie unless if you include Clueless. This is all about Gwyneth Paltrow. She perfectly embodies the naivety and superiority of her character's attitude. Don't expect some by the book adaptation. They've played up the comedy broadly. The visual style from director Douglas McGrath is rather weak. But Paltrow enlightens the whole movie with an engaging performance. Toni Collette plays the poor Harriet Smith. And Alan Cumming has a hilarious scene in the back of the carriage as Mr. Elton.