Movies

BRIDE AND PREJUDICE

In Bride and Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) proves her directorial versatility by offering up a classic tale from Western culture, but tinting it with a distinctly Eastern lens. As the title suggests, the movie is an adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice, but instead of taking place in the pastoral setting of 18th century England, the camera takes us through modern-day India, London, Los Angeles, and back again with the fantastical themes of Bollywood following throughout.

The story centers on the tempestuous love/hate relationship between American Will Darcy and Indian Lalita Bakshi. He is the son of a wealthy hotel family; she is an independent and headstrong daughter of a mother eager to marry her and her three sisters off to well-established young bachelors. The storyline should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Jane Austen, or any standard boy-meets-girl Hollywood romance, really; what makes this film so enjoyable is its marriage of Eastern style and Western content (especially fun to see when the setting moves to Los Angeles) and the way this relationship parallels the one between Lalita and Darcy. ---SNJ¬

HITCH

Alexander “Hitch” Hitchens (Will Smith) gives crash courses in getting to that next level. He is New York’s “date doctor,” schooling classy, good-natured, often schlubby-looking men on the techniques needed to get past the entry level with the girl of their dreams.

The narrative thread follows Hitch’s newest project: shy accountant Albert (Kevin James) as he tries to woo Paris Hilton-but-smart-like heiress Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta) as it parallels Hitch’s own relationship with gossip columnist Sara (the perpetually sultry Eva Mendes).

Much of the film does not hold up to scrutiny, but it is not meant to. It is simply the next and most successful step in director Andy Tennant’s (Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After) path to becoming the next Gerry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) and Will Smith’s quest to becoming the most non-threatening and charismatic African-American in popular culture since Fat Albert.

This is not When Harry Met Sally, but Hitch does perform one of that film’s most astonishing tricks: Hitch believably turns Kevin James into a romantic lead worthy of Amber Valletta. If nothing else, the film is inspiring for all those goofy, awkward, smart Harvard men with few social skills.---SAW

UNCLE NINO

Uncle Nino’s heart is in the right place, but those around him have difficulty seeing this because his behavior suggests that his brain is not. This description of the title character in Robert Shallcross’ new movie, Uncle Nino, actually captures a lot of what is wrong with this well-intentioned picture: it has heart to spare, but it frustrates because it lacks brains.

Uncle Nino (Pierrino Mascarino) is an elderly Italian peasant who decides to travel to America for the first time to see Robert (Joan of Arcadia’s Joe Mantegna), his brother’s son, and what he finds is far from his expectations.

The whole picture runs much like an extended sitcom, complete with obtrusive music meant to telegraph the emotions of a given scene. And like a bad episode of 7th Heaven, the stakes don’t really exist. The characters are sheltered from the harshness of reality so that no matter what, every problem has its solutions. One can guess that this doesn’t make for very exciting drama. And with none of the memorable characters that help keep audiences attached to their favorite sitcoms, viewers of this film may be left wanting anything to keep their attention.---AAO