Sammi and Beau return to discuss Jane Austen Book Club, Hugh Dancy’s bicycle shorts all while lamenting the lack of modern ‘Persuasion’ adaptations in this episode of Excessively Diverted.

Jane Austen Book Club was directed by Robin Swicord and Stars Kathy Baker, Hugh Dancy, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Maria Bello, Jimmy Smits, and Maggie Grace.

The Good: 

We love anything that celebrates reading and women who read. This is a movie about a loving group of friends who understand and take care of each other. It’s refreshing to see female friendships portrayed in a realistic way, warts and all. Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, and Kathy Baker are all at their sparkling best in this movie. Can we just say we all need a Bernadette in our lives? Hugh Dancy is at peak adorable in this movie and manages to make Northanger Abbey even more charming than it already is.

The Bad: 

There were a few very odd, somewhat forced jokes, one in particular about a “genetically altered bitch” – referring to one of Jocelyn’s (Maria Bello) dogs. Prudie as a whole was, as Sammi called her, “aggressively unlikable” and made some very questionable choices, not including…

The Ugly: 

Trey. We neither cared for or condoned the side story of Prudie’s (Emily Blunt) flirtation with a student. I’d like to address this to everyone (listen up, Riverdale) the teacher-student seduction stories have got to stop.

Verdict: 

If you can’t spend an afternoon talking books with your girlfriends, this movie will almost make you feel like you have.

Podcast Music by Nicolai Heidlas

Podcast art by Josh Hollis