Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Admittedly, I did not have high hopes for this moving knowing that it would be hard to do in 2 hours what A&E did in 5+ hours. But, I had thought it would have been better--Emma and Sense and Sensibility were much better shortened Hollywood versions of Austen's books than this was. So what did I find wrong with this adaptation? 1. The Bennets looked sloppy and poor. I immediately thought back to two lines from the book that made me think that this was not how the Bennet's should have appeared: Jane tells Lizzy "We're not very poor." and Lizzy telling Lady Catherine "He is a gentleman and I am a gentleman's daughter, so far we are equal." I felt that the Bennet's looked just a little better than the orphans in Oliver Twist. 2. Mr. Bennett was portrayed as a grumpy old man. One thing I loved about Pride and Predjudice was Austen's humor and Mr. Bennett had in my opinion some of her best lines. These were totally lacking in this movie and didn't need to be--why change his character completely? True, he did redeem himself a little in the end and I loved the line about sending in any beau's that may call for Kitty and Mary." 3. At the movie's beginning, Lizzy seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and hated Darcy from the moment he walked in the door. I couldn't account for that. She felt at liberty to make biting comments to him before she ever overheard his critical comment of her. She really irritated me from the beginning and it was hard to get past that to enjoy the rest of the movie. 4. Mr. Bingley appeared as a bumbling imbesole instead of a humble and likeable gentleman and I agree with one writer that the actress who played Jane would have made a better Elizabeth. Jane seemed to have more wits about her than Lizzy. Kitty and Lydia and sometimes Lizzy seemed to giggle for no reason. I found them irritating as well. Georgiana Darcy's character was also altered. The book describes her as being very shy as to appear a snob but that is not so. This Georgiana was not a bit shy. Overall, I felt that the end of the film was better than the beginning, but I still would never buy or recommend this movie. I wondered if I would have liked it better having known nothing of the book. I would have preferred much more of the story cut out to develop the overall love story between Elizabeth and Darcy and give certain characters more presence. I know that my reviews will probably be unpopular, since others who have rated this movie poorly have recieved ratings to reflect that, but to be honest, I find it hard to find many things I liked about this version. I'll stick to the A&E version.