Autumn in August joins The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

For our final matinee in this year’s Autumn in August film festival, I don’t think that we could’ve done any better than the Netflix adaptation of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

Granted, I am far from an impartial viewer as I fondly recall reading an advance copy of the 2008 novel written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows(aunt and niece respectively ; the latter completing the book after the former sadly passed away).

It was a novel told in letters so seeing it acted out with some of that original correspondence woven in was lovely indeed. Set in 1946, reporter and published author Juliet Ashton(Lily James) is seeking a new challenge when one unexpectedly turns up in the mail.

A letter from Dawsey Adams(Michael Huisman), a resident of Guernsey island that asks for her help in finding a copy of Charles Lamb’s work also offers some interesting info about the unusually titled book club that he’s in.

Becoming intrigued by such a group of bookish friends formed during the occupation of the island during WWII, Juliet decides to see the place and meet the society members for herself:

When she arrives, Juliet does get to attend a book club meeting and share a lively discussion with everyone over Anne Bronte(they’re reading a biography of the youngest Brontë sister that Juliet wrote!).

However, when the subject of Juliet writing about the group comes up, strong objections are as most of them don’t want certain secrets shared in public, particularly in regards to Elizabeth (Jessica Brown Findlay), the founding member of the Society. She’s been missing for a good while now and her young daughter Kit is being raised by Dawsey, with the hope that Elizabeth will be back to claim her soon.

Wanting to help, Juliet stays on to look into Elizabeth’s disappearance using her reporting skills plus as assist from her new fiancé Mark(Glen Powell), an American diplomat who seems to be getting impatient with her time away from England.

No doubt he suspects that more than this mystery search is keeping Juliet on Guernsey as she and Dawsey are becoming perhaps more than friends:

I don’t want to say anything more than that because I really hope that more people see this movie.

The performances are lovely with such a nice blend of old school British actors such as Penelope Wilton and Tom Courtenay and newer folk like Lily James, who truly shines here. I know that Glen Powell is a big deal these days but to paraphrase Shania Twain, he didn’t impress me much.

It’s been awhile since I read the book yet the script felt like a well thought out version of the original story with the right mix of drama, romance and good natured humor when needed. Developing the relationships between the main character and various others can be tricky to do on film unlike a book; however this was a nicely stuck balance for all concerned:

So this concludes our Autumn in August viewing party and my thanks to everyone who attended. In case it wasn’t clear, I will be rereading The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society this fall(even picked up a new edition for the occasion) and heartily recommend either seeing the movie or reading this delightful book.

 You can do both if you wish (and it’s fine in whatever order you choose to engage with this lovingly crafted tale of dealing with life during the tough times while still embracing the joys of this world) and hopefully by this time next year, we all will be feeling much better about the state of things and celebrating that hard earned bliss together:

 

Instagram update and end of summer reading dilemma!

I’m on a mini blog break(due to a certain convention holding my attention this week) but did want to mention a couple of things:

1) I have an Instagram account that showcases my attempts at biblio photo shoots and there’s a link to it on the side panel of this blog finally(my tech skills are slow,folks,sorry!).

If you’re interested in checking it out, my address there is @livingreadgirl please feel free to say hello if you wish!

2) My latest book display on Instagram has my three choices for late summer reading over the upcoming Labor Day weekend; Sag Habor by Colton Whitehead, Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne or The Pairing by Casey McQuiston.

If you have any opinion or any other suggestions about this page turning dilemma, please let me know either here or Instagram. Granted, I am not planning on getting any new books before September but I will keep any good recommendations in mind for future reference.

I do tend to wrap up my Autumn in August series next week and hope all of you out there are having a good summer with plenty of great reads and good music to enjoy them with as well:

 

Sharing a Mona Lisa Smile this Autumn in August

For this week’s Autumn in August entry, I decided to watch for the first time the 2003 film Mona Lisa Smile. The college setting of the story seemed to have the back to school vibe that I was looking or so I thought…

The movie stars Julia Roberts as Katherine Watson, an art teacher ready to begin her academic career at Wellesley College in 1953. From the start, the higher ups are already giving her grief over wanting to add “modern art” to her syllabus (Picasso and Jackson Pollack, oh my!) but her first class of students are quite the trial by fire there:

Eventually, Katherine starts to get the girls to do more than just quote the textbook and encourages them to want more in life than just finding a husband.

Some of her guidance is lost on Betty(Kristen Dunst), who goes all out on being the ideal Wellesley woman and is truly insufferable throughout the movie. 

Betty gets the school nurse fired for giving one of her friends birth control pills ( and she’s a terrible friend to her peers with bad advice and judgmental interference) and takes everything opportunity to shove her social status in Katherine’s face. However, Katherine refuses to take any college girl crap off of her:

Unfortunately, most of the movie doesn’t fully focus on this plot line.

Instead, we get a heaping mess of subplots that dilute the full flavor of the central story.

Some of those side trips aren’t all bad(Katherine encourages one of her students to follow through on pursuing law school) but some of them just go nowhere (another girl is dating a pushy creep who may or may not be cheating on her) and Katherine’s love life gets thrown in the mix without much influence on the overall character arc for her by the end.

Some of the better moments in this movie are when Katherine shows her students that’s more than one way to look at life and the film needed more of that. The scene where she pushes back on Betty’s newsletter critique of her is one of Katherine’s stronger speeches but without a more solid emphasis on the subject matter, it doesn’t land the knockout punch that it should:

Well, I will say that Mona Lisa Smile was worth a watch and there are plenty of good performances, with Roberts and Dunst at the top of the list, not to mention Marcia Gay Harden as a teacher of social graces who almost stole the show at some points.

It’s just a shame that MLS doesn’t earned higher than a B+ when it comes to smart storytelling. Anyway, our last AIA episode will feature The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , of which I have better hopes of being great(particularly since I read the novel it’s based on). In the meantime, enjoy a brief glimpse of Tori Amos as a fifties style singer-quite a nice surprise indeed!:

 

Autumn in August gets a sweet taste of Serendipity

Welcome back, everyone, for another round of Autumn in August where we keep cool during the summer heat with a fall themed movie.

Just like last time, I chose a New York based film from 2001, Serendipity , starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as Jonathan and Sarah, who randomly meet during Christmas shopping and find themselves falling instantly in love.

Before we get any further, I must say that despite the holiday setting early on, I don’t consider this a Christmas movie; for one thing, the season is more background than anything and the story line doesn’t necessarily need Christmas to function (Valentine’s Day would work just as well in this instance). 

With that in mind, the two of them go for the same pair of gloves at Bloomingdale’s, which leads to an amusing argument with another customer (an uncredited cameo by the late great Buck Henry)over who really deserves but them:

That leads to Jonathan and Sarah having a magical night walking over the city and sharing ice cream treats at Serendipity 3(an actual restaurant in NYC) where she tells him of her belief that fate guides everyone and if they’re meant to be together, there has to be signs.

So, Jonathan writes his name and number on a five dollar bill that Sarah quickly spends and if that particular bit of money returns to her, then she will call. In exchange, Sarah puts her name and number in a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera and sells to a bookstore the next day for him to find as well. You can tell how long ago this was due to such whimsical logic being used.

Despite agreeing to such wackiness, Jonathan insists on one last chance at hurrying fate via an elevator race but thanks to a devilish little boy, that shortcut to love is denied!:

A few years later, Jonathan and Sarah are on opposite ends of the country, romantically involved with other people.

In fact, Jonathan is about to get married to Halley(future Blue Bloods star Bridget Moynahan) and Sarah has just gotten engaged to Lars(John Corbett). Despite these circumstances, each of them feels that the universe is trying to reunite them so they separately take up quests to find one another.

While Sarah’s plan involves taking a trip to New York with her best gal pal in tow(Molly Shannon), Jonathan happens to find the receipt for those long ago gloves that Sarah ultimately bought and tries to track her down via the store account, harassing a sales clerk(Eugene Levy) into breaking a few rules for him.

As a former retail worker myself, I am on that guy’s side and he is right about staying on the proper side of the counter there!:

This is a very lighthearted romcom with a script that is as deep and delicious as cotton candy.

While it is far from perfect (I so forgot that Jeremy Piven was in this movie and just how annoying he is), there are lovely moments where the nature of life and love is discussed between friends that do make this story line more than just a lovesick romp:

While Serendipity is not a classic romance for the ages, it does offer a good time to be had by all who are in the mood for lovelorn entertainment.

Next week, I will be watching for the first time , Mona Lisa Smile, a film with quite the back to school energy there. In the meanwhile, savor the sweetness of love and randomness New York style:

 

Autumn in August goes back in time with Kate & Leopold

 

Welcome to this year’s tribute to keeping those cooling thoughts of fall in mind, Autumn in August .

We start this film fest off with 2001’s Kate & Leopold, starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, the latter unintentionally stealing the show there, in my opinion.

Jackman plays the Duke of Albany in New York of 1876. His observations of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge are disturbed by a mysterious stranger (Liev Schrieber) who later follows Leopold to his uncle’s house where a matchmaking party is set to take place.

Leo, not interested in marrying for money, pursues the man all the way back to the bridge, where the two of them fall into a time portal and arrive in modern day New York.

The stranger is a scientist named Stuart who lives downstairs from his ex-girlfriend Kate McKay(Ryan) due to a series of mishaps, Leopold is left on his own with only Kate to reluctantly guide him around.

Kate doesn’t believe for a minute that Leopold is an accidental time traveler but over the course of a week, starts to wonder about his story as he does things like go after a purse snatcher on horseback in a most delightful way:

Leopold’s old fashioned charms do clash with Kate’s pragmatic approach to life yet there is something to be said for a man who makes his own pen and inkstand to write an apology letter with an invitation to a rooftop dinner for two!

Yes,this movie does have plot holes (not to mention Schreiber is not great at physical comedy which his accident prone character has to perform too much)yet what really makes the story work is Hugh Jackman, full stop.

Jackman is fully believable as a “man out of time” as Kate mockingly describes him, an impoverished aristocrat straight out of Downton Abbey by way of The Gilded Age. Leopold’s ability to blend in his new surroundings is well highlighted as in the scenes with Kate’s goofy brother Charlie(Breckin Meyer) who Leo gives very credible romantic advice to:

One of my favorite scenes has Leopold (in Charlie in tow) showing up to Kate’s business dinner date with her boss(Bradley Whitfield) and shows up the bluster that her employer is using to conduct anything but business with her. Such a great use of the word serpentine indeed:

While Meg Ryan is great as always in these kinds of stories, it’s Hugh Jackman who really breathes fresh life into this time travel romance. The director’s cut of the film gives quite the odd twist to the time travel plotline (hint: a wonky bloodline subplot there) but since I rewatched this via streaming, that didn’t factor into my joy at visiting this movie once again.

So, if you’re looking for something lighthearted romance set in New York with an old school Hugh Jackman, this is picture perfect entertainment. Next week, we’ll look at another 2001 romcom set in New York, Serendipity,but for now, let’s ballroom dance with Leopold and friends: