Bride & Prejudice

As the musical is the genre of the moment (see High School Musical) and I have a love of the Brit and Bollywood I chose this film to review. Bride and Prejudice is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice but it is fairly loose. There is a guy called Mr. Darcy and many miscommunications occur but you do not need to be familiar with the book to get the film.

Lalita is the main character, the head-strong second eldest of four daughters. Lalita’s mother wants nothing more to marry her daughters off to successful Indian boys who preferably live in America. During many discussions about marriage and love there are the necessary song and dance routines. Lalita meets Mr. Darcy and American friend of a wedding guest, he and Lalita are at odds almost instantly. Darcy sees Lalita’s family as gold diggers and she sees him as an arrogant Westerner. Cultural barrier and stereotypes replace the class discussions of the original.

I enjoyed this film for itself and not a “re-make” of Austen’s work. The song and dance numbers were fantastic, including the hilarious “no life without wife”. I’m sure that this movie would appeal to a certain group of teens but probably not all of them. You could also sell this film to some LOST fans as it stars Naveen Andrews who plays Sayid. I would definitely consider including this in a collection, especially in areas where it wouldn’t be held in the video store.

Audience: 13+ (girls primarily) Rated PG-13
Ranking: Quality 4/5 Popularity 3.5/5