Loveuary has been an experience and if we’re being honest, I thought that I would hate Love & Jane. Hallucinating Jane Austen? That seemed like it was going to be something that I couldn’t get into. That and I usually am not into Alison Sweeney movies. She’s great, don’t get me wrong. But she’s very intense in all her roles and I feel overpowered by her presence in each scene.
But here’s the thing about Loveuary – I’ve committed to giving every single movie a chance. So sitting down to watch this movie, I didn’t have high expectations. Lilly, a hopeless romantic and literary enthusiast, is surprised when her wish to talk to her favorite author comes true and Jane Austen herself appears in her life.
Now, I am all for fandom. I love fandom. I know that people are obsessed with things, but Lily’s love for Jane Austen is unmatched. It’s intense, so for me it felt like the perfect role for Sweeney. She carried on as Lily, her life revolving around Jane and thinking about nothing else but how Jane would think or handle a situation. Though I know that they say you can learn everything in books, but I do think that real world experience is just as important.
But that’s not really for me to decide for others.
As the movie progresses we meet Trevor, who is played by Benjamin Ayres. He’s a tech guy, who buys a book store. He hires the company Lily works at for a campaign. She’s the type of person who doesn’t like tech and loves the feeling of a book in her hands. She doesn’t think that books should be bought online, that the feeling of a bookstore – the way it transports you to other places and reminds you of the world out there – is important.
Love & Jane is highly predictable, but it’s part of the charm of it. It’s about living your life, loving what you love, letting people in, and adapting to the world around you. There is a balance that life can have.
As the movie progresses and everything brings Trevor and Lily together, you can’t help but smile. You smile as Lily’s interaction with Jane are making you laugh, cringe and want to hallucinate your favorite author.
Love & Jane isn’t a good or bad movie. It just is. The movie is a little out there, but that’s not a bad thing. Sometimes you just need to escape and remind yourself of what you love.
Jane Austen inspired so many things in life and well, that is a good thing. Her still inspiring movies, well that will happen for a long time. She’s got a lot of heart, and this movie definitely reflects that heart and that Jane is for everyone.
Love & Jane is a cute movie. It’s definitely a role meant for Sweeney (even if LIly’s intensity is somewhat annoying). Ayres is likable as Trevor, but you still leave the movie with the feeling that they could have done better with his character.
But all this being said, it was an escape and I can appreciate anything that Sweeney does that doesn’t make me want to change the channel.