Review: Marrying Mr Darcy (2018)
I have decided that I will no longer be doing my 'Jane Austen Month' in December, which I have done for the past two years since creating this blog. The first and main reason for this is that I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and publish at least four reviews (one a week) during that month. It turns out I don't respond well to pressure I put on myself, especially when there's the added stress of your family demanding your attention around Christmas.
Secondly, I found out that there's a sequel to Unleashing Mr Darcy and I couldn't wait to watch it. Look at that film poster. It's so fake and over-edited to look like a perfect picture, when that dog's expression summarises the truth of the matter: confusion and potential misery.
Unleashing Mr Darcy was one of the first reviews I wrote for this blog, and I think it was the first time I felt very passionate about a film I was reviewing. It was the first Hallmark Channel film I'd ever seen, which certainly made it an interesting eye-opener for me.
Unleashing Mr Darcy is not a good film, but I had a laugh through my experience watching it as a frustrated viewer. Even now, I will occasionally remember a scene from the film that still makes me laugh to myself.
Before watching this sequel, I sought out a trailer and a couple of behind the scenes videos. In one of these videos, Ryan Paevey who plays Darcy refers to Marrying Mr Darcy as a continuation of "The Darcy Universe", which has made my day, my week, my month and possibly my life just a little bit better from having laughed so much at it.
I came to Marrying Mr Darcy with the hope of having the same kind of bad fun. So, what's it about? After six months of dating, Donovan Darcy (Paevey) proposes to his girlfriend, protagonist Elizabeth Scott (played by Cindy Busby). The couple's family and friends are delighted when they learn the pair are engaged, and everyone wants to help plan the wedding, including Donovan's aunt Violet (Frances Fisher). In the last film, the couple fell out with Violet because she didn't approve of Elizabeth, but they makes amends in less than the first ten minutes of Marrying Mr Darcy. Now Violet wants to make sure that the pair have the best wedding possible so that the Darcy family peers will be satisfied, and Elizabeth finds herself losing control of what is supposed to be her big day.
That's really it in terms of plot, and that's where the biggest problem in the film lies. There is barely any plot, it's just Aunt Violet trying to control the wedding, and Elizabeth silently letting her for the majority of the film before she has a breakdown near the end. It's so frustratingly boring, made worse by the fact that the most of the characters, notably Elizabeth, are unlikable.
I didn't like Elizabeth in Unleashing Mr Darcy but she is so much worse here. She's about thirty years old, but acts more like she's half that age. Throughout this film, she goes agrees with everything Violet says and then she sulks dramatically every time something goes even vaguely wrong for her in life. In a scene where she goes for a job interview at a school with the headteacher there, he tells her that she's a very promising candidate, but gently points out that he still has other people he needs to see. Elizabeth then sulks and insists she won't get the job, although of course she does because she's Elizabeth Scott.
The privileged opportunities this character is presented with astound me, particularly when she seems either ungrateful or simply unaware of them. Violet and Donovan pay for everything going towards this wedding, and Elizabeth just assumes that's the case. There's a scene where Donovan assures Elizabeth he will pay for everything, and she just nods at him. What? Yes, she's the less financially secure person in this couple, but surely you would at least offer to pay for even a bit of the day you are supposed to be sharing with this person? The twist at the end of the film that shows how both Donovan and Elizabeth each get their dream wedding is a prime example of ridiculousness from this film and honestly, it's so rushed that it doesn't feel like a solution at all. It just adds to the feeling I have as a viewer that Elizabeth is a spoiled brat, and it makes me unhappy that I'm supposed to believe this is what a happily ever after looks like.
Somehow, after six months of dating since the last film, Donovan and Elizabeth somehow manage to have less chemistry together. The film pretty much opens with Donovan proposing to Elizabeth, and honestly, I wish there had been a lighthearted montage of the couple together or something that would show how they have grown in their time together. That doesn't happen though, and there is no growth in their bond present for the viewer to see. Every time they are alone together, all they seem to talk about is how Elizabeth is unhappy about something, and Donovan says he'll take care of it, which he always does. Even in the proposal scene, Busby does not play Elizabeth's reaction well. She seems far too underwhelmed, considering this man was making one of the greatest romantic gestures there is to her. I feel like she would have been equally "excited" if Donovan had just announced he'd brought her favourite kind of sandwich for her to have for lunch. As for Paevey, he's sadly not given much to work with here, so it's hard to give too much thought to his performance. He always comes across as a bit stiff and uncomfortable. I did prefer him here than I did in Unleashing Mr Darcy, but that may have something to do with the pity I felt for him for putting up with Elizabeth.
The rest of the actors aren't great, but not all of them are awful. Apart from Zara, Dononvan's younger sister, everyone is played by the same actors as they were in the previous film. The weakest link here is Elizabeth McLaughlin as Gabrielle. Many of the lines in this film are exposition heavy with references to things that happened in the last film, and McLaughlin is the worst at attempting to make this lines sound natural in any way. Frances Fisher as Aunt Violet actually seemed a lot better to me this time around, probably because she had more screen time to try and justify her presence with. I don't care for the character or how she's written, but I think Fisher played her as well as anyone could have done, considering what she was given to work with. Yasmeene Ball is a fine replacement for Zara, and actually seems a little more suited to the naivety that comes with Zara's age than her previous actress did.
Although they barely had any screen time together, I found myself more in favour of the couple that consists of Elizabeth's sister, Jenna, and Donovan's best friend, Henry, than the main couple. These two at least talk to each other like human beings (in delivery, the dialogue rarely feels authentic in this feature) and as a couple, they communicate well with each other, something sorely lacking between Donovan and Elizabeth. The film even openly acknowledges a couple of times that the main couple don't communicate well.
Why are they getting married then?
Sadly, this film just has me believing that if they decide to add a third film to "The Darcy Universe", it could only be called Divorcing Mr Darcy. There aren't even many dogs this time around to make staring at the screen a little worthwhile. Apart from the names "Elizabeth" and "Darcy", the one redeeming feature this film has over Unleashing Mr Darcy is that it at least isn't so self involved to connect itself with the great work of Jane Austen again. It's not close to being as worthwhile as Pride and Prejudice, and not close to being worthwhile overall. Please don't bother watching this.
THE SCOREBOARD
Chick Flick Check List Elements: 1, 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 35, 37, 38, 39, 42, 51, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 63 (+1), 68
Total: 20
Is this really a chick flick or will men like it too? Chick flick, but that doesn't mean people will like it.
Would I recommend this film? No.
Quote of the film: "You know, for a while there, we stopped communicating, and that's where our problems started." - Elizabeth
Film rating: 1/10