Men who like "Pride and Prejude" - why do you like it?

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Well lets see. First off, I'm 50, I drive a muscle car with flames painted on the sides. I don't follow sports, put I do participate in several. Born and raised in NYC area, so fit my in your stereotype anyway you see fit.

The fact is this a brilliant telling of this story done with excellent attention to detail and character. What puts it way above your typical "chick flick" (don't even get me started on twilight, shades of grey, ... I'm on an empty stomach right now and any reverse peristalsis will result in dry heaves and they are most painful,) is the strength of all the characters particularly Colin Firth brilliantly portraying Mr Darcy. Unlike most chick flicks, CF doesn't fall into lost puppy dog stereotype that almost all chick flicks use as the formula for the male love interest. CF walks the fine line of a romantic lead and still maintaining his pride, never letting his emotions/love alter his character, yet still have room to grow, learn and improve. This is where most chick flicks (including the 2005 re-telling of this very story,) fall flat on the male audience. No guy wants to be whipped into submission by his love. The 2005 Mr Darcy was a wet noodle, from the opening scene I thought he was pathetic kitten.

Colin Firth is true to his character, a strong lead throughout, and as we learn completely enamored by Lizzy, he never is a lost puppy. He maintains his strength and dignity, never varies his composure even when he has to admit his faulty behavior (with respect to his treatment of Jane.) He is a man's man, worthy of of his stature. This is what puts this chick flick light years ahead of the teenage hearthrob, "cinderella syndrome" love stories that are a dime a dozen.

Even lizzy is a wonderful character. She is a strong woman, never a victim needing rescue. This also makes her wonderfully attractive and interesting. Other strong movies that break the "cinderella syndrome" include "educating rita", "10 things I hate about you" "4 weddings and a funeral" "love actually" all of these are very acceptable "chick flicks"

This one however, is far better done.


The opinions expressed here are solely my own and really don't mean a rat's ass to anything. - J

I'm super late to the party, but after catching "Lost in Austen" quite by accident and not being familiar enough in detail with most of the interpretations of the original novels (since high school and being forced to read some of Austen's contemporaries) I watched a bunch of the various film versions this weekend.

This one I watched twice. I'm a guy, I like sports, cars, dogs, etc. so in that regard I guess I fit in that way. On the other hand, I've always been the sort of guy who lives in his head and is somewhat of an 'escapist' reader. To delve into worlds quite wholly removed from our own (and yet still relevant in some ways) is something I enjoy.

To be sure, the restrictions placed upon the sexes and classes at this time are a little more than tough to take. I find myself responding in my head to the tirades of sanctioned verbal abuse levied at people for no more than their station in life or some other aspect of their situation that they've little control over. We forget there are no antibiotics, cellphones or drive-thru coffee. Despite the ending of these novels, they are just that...novels...and in real-life at the time I think you'd probably have had way more triumphs of the de Bourghs and way fewer happily-ever-afters.

But there are other things - perhaps some that are as you say 'chick-flick-esque'. The appreciation of the architecture, the clothes, the food, the ceremony and rituals...I found this version to be in this regard satisfying like a long hot shower after a rough day. It is said that men are more likely to be emotionally stirred by something visual...so...in the way that some guys could spend hours at a car show looking at the latest Mustang or 4x4, those of use who appreciate clothes and wine and food and landscaping might enjoy a couple of hours watching a bunch of reasonably attractive young men and women enjoying themselves in some of the most visually arresting arrangements of lifestyle some would say have ever been created.

I guess I like the idea of courtship as well. Gentility. Writing a real letter. Being almost excessively polite. Dressing up to do things. Calling on people...seeing them in real life. Honor and respect. Really awesome knee-length Hessian boots ( jk :)

Today we can log onto phone apps and dating sites and it seems the idea of the effort of having to really, really work at 'getting someone' in real life without just sitting back and pressing 'go' on your phone seems to have left us.

My husband likes P&P very much, as well as cars, hunting, beards, etc. He finds the movie witty, humorous, and he likes happy endings.

I like sports and action video games.
And as for 'chick flicks', I have my limits. (Like "Sex and the City 2".)
But I see no need to limit myself to only watching action movies.

A period film from the works of one of the masters including Austen can be entertaining because first of all they are such good stories.

Austen is not only funny and clever but she has a blunt understanding about the possible conflict between love and money.
Charlotte Lucas married Mr. Collins for comfort and wasn't happy.
Lydia was wildly in love with Wickham and that didn't turn out that well.

Austen also has a fairly complex view of men.
"Pride and Prejudice" explores that first impressions are not always accurate ones.

But while Austen is a realist, she is also an optimist.
In the end she holds out hope, in spite of the obstacles, for a successful relationship.
And sometimes it's nice to have a happy ending.

BB ;-)

it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈

Lots of sports cars, mainly Italian, in my time.

P&P is one of the greatest novels in this or any language written by one of the greatest prose stylists in this or any language and anyone, male or female, who calls it 'chick-lit' in my hearing can expect to be given a hard time.

If you read it and don't get it, (I didn't, first time as a young teenager) then try again. One day you will.

This series falls down a bit on the casting of Elizabeth and Jane, for me, and didn't really deliver much of the sparkling dialogue between Elizabeth and Darcy, but apart from that it's well-made, beautifully shot and manages to get some of the energy of the original up on screen. Three of its minor characters, Mr Collins, Mr Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh are outstandingly well read by the actors and very well played.

I just finished talking to my brother-in-law and nieces about how much they liked this movie, particularly over the later one with Kiera Knightly.

My own personal opinion is that I'm not really interested in sitting through either one. Not because I'm a man, per se, because I'm sure many men enjoyed this film with their manhood safely intact. And certainly not because it's a period film, as there have been numerous wonderful period films in the past (Amadeus comes to mind) and will probably be more to come.

I'm just not interested in the subject matter.

"Whatever happened to Fay Wray?"

I'm afraid lots of men and women fall into gender stereotypes about what they think they should or shouldn't like, and depending on where you live there can be serious social pressure. The general "Jane Austen Boom" that's been going on quite a while now has often been presented almost as a rite of passage for young women, something that would tend to keep guys away.

I like Jane Austen because she is a keen observer of human relations and the complexity of all human beings. I like her because of her incredible grasp of all the rules of society in which everyone lived and which shaped their lives, rules most people lived by but mostly unconsciously. I like Jane Austen for her vivid portrayal of early 19th century English life a portrayal that makes it come alive even today. Jane Austen is full of life itself going on in its muddled way.

I like filmed versions for their beautiful English countryside, the Great Houses and their splendid interiors, the balls and parties, and village life. I also like how beautiful the women looked in their Regency clothes, so soft and comfortable and natural looking, and this just after an era of huge powdered hair, stiff brocades and gigantic dresses that required framework to hold them up. What I don't understand is why they soon went back to framework and bustles in the Victorian Age.