Martin Henderson Musical Madness in This Once Regency-Set Story Turned To Today
There's a big chuckle to be had during the credit roll of "Bride and Prejudice," and it's not from the wacky outtakes they edited in, a la a Jackie Chan movie. What's hilarious is the "Inspired by Jane Austen" credit. Inspired? Why not call a spade a spade and say it was "Pride & Prejudice," which is completely is? Whole graphs were taken from the dialogue and there was little in this infectious, colorful musical that wasn't in the Austen original. There are only four, not five daughters in this version, poor Kitty having been left out with Lady Catherine (the Lady Catherine character has turned into Darcy's mother [!])
OK, so Martin Henderson isnt' Colin Firth (then again, who is, besides the man himself?), but he's wholly capable and credible and despite the critics, his acting is perfectly fine (Alexis Bledel of "Gilmore Girls," as his sister "Georgie," [instead of Georgiana, get it?] is an entirely different story. Shiver.)
They've played the character of Wickham (here called "Johnny Wickam," and played by Rachel Leigh Cook's fiance Daniel Gillies) more initially smarmy than he is in the novel or in the now classic A&E miniseries. Readers and viewers were originally meant to believe that "Elizabeth" (here, Lalita) might have some reason to believe Darcy (Henderson) is arrogant and perhaps unkind, and Wickham was intended to throw the readers/audience into thinking he might be an appropriate, albeit poor, suitor for the story's heroine. Here, you immediately know Darcy's charms will win in the end. It's also as though having Gillies sport a five-'o-clock shadow throughout vilifies him further. The Lydia (here "Lakhi," pronouced Lucky) sub-plot is also muddled and diffused.
On the other hand, this film's "Mr. Collins,"
