Jane Austen's famous book is a study of the mores and manners of the upper classes in 18th-century England. It was a time of courtesy and chastity, when the most important decision in a woman's life was likely that of choosing a husband. Today, those values seem quaint or even outdated to most of us. Unless you're Mormon.
There are very few, if any, cultural or ethnic groups in which a remake of Pride and Prejudice could be set without requiring extensive and creative rewriting, but the world of the Church of Latter-Day Saints is one of them. Andrew Black's first feature film is a faithful retelling of the story of Elizabeth Bennet, a willful young woman, and her at-times turbulent relationship with Darcy. Darcy is handsome and wealthy, the ideal catch, but Elizabeth wants more than that. She also wants a man of character, and Darcy appears to her as haughty, superficial and cruel.
In the remake, Kam Heskin does a delightful turn as Elizabeth, a BYU student and budding writer. Her four roommates are all intent on finding husbands, but Elizabeth, despite her hoary age of 26, is more concerned with her career. It doesn't help that she's torn in any possible affection between roguish Jack Wickam (Henry Maguire) and taciturn businessman Darcy (Orlando Seale), and has to fend off the determined, hilarious advances of Collins (Hubble Palmer), a real-life Mormon who steals all his scenes.
Adorning the movie's main story are subplots involving the roommates' romantic pursuits, as all of young, female Provo is aflutter with the publication of The Pink Bible, a huntress' guide to bagging a mate.
Despite the film needing several minutes trimmed and lots of places tightened, it's a surprisingly fun, light frolic, buoyed by plenty of gentle jokes poking fun at the Mormon faith specifically and courtship in general. The performances in the beginning are rough, and I was prepared for a painful 105 or so minutes. But something happens after Heskin and Maguire's first big scene: Black finds his feet, and we're off to the well-behaved races.
Best of all, anyone with a complete ignorance of both LDS and Austen will still be well entertained.