There was a moment during the frankly almost too hilarious Jane Austen’s Period Drama–no, really, can something be too funny? I had to stop about seven times so I could probably laugh without missing the next joke that wasn’t really a joke, as much as just, you know, a fact–where I half-seriously considered the possibility of making this short required viewing for every man in my immediate circle. Do you want to remain on speaking terms with me? You must watch this or something of the sort.
Alas, I’ve now come back to reality and have realized I can probably only very vehemently suggest everyone I know and will ever meet watch it, which is a campaign I will start right this moment. Because everyone I know and will ever meet, and you, a stranger on the internet who might have stumbled upon this, must absolutely stop what you’re doing, even if that is reading my review, and go watch this short. I promise you will only thank me for it. In between tears of laughter.
Ironically, and I know how big that word is in this context, it’s not that Jane Austen’s Period Drama is that funny. I mean, it is, but it really shouldn’t be. This is literally a short about a fact of human existence—I digress, roughly half of the population, but you catch my drift—so it shouldn’t even be that funny to see the short tackle fact in such a straightforward way. Women have periods! Men don’t know all that much about periods! And if they don’t know all that much about periods now, imagine how much they knew in Jane Austen’s times. And it really, truly shouldn’t feel like the height of romance to have our leading man react with kindness and empathy.
But I swear, the moment our hero started taking notes, I almost swooned. That was one of the times I paused not to laugh. Yes, there was a lot of pausing. I promise I did re-watch this in one sitting. But if you, dear modern hero feel like taking notes now, write this down: taking notes on what a woman wants beats carrying a woman when she’s bleeding, especially when you didn’t bother to check why she was bleeding in the first place.
Anyway, the point is that being a woman is hard! But it isn’t even that hard. Or it is, but somehow we live with it. And if we can, then the least men can do is put up with listening to the things we have to live through every month. And so, honestly, I think every woman I know is going to get a kick out of this short, but also every man I know and will ever meet should watch it as well, for educational purposes, and also because it is hilarious. And educational. Mostly hilarious.
If you can’t laugh at yourself, then what is the point of living?
Jane Austen’s Period Drama might not make you ramble as much as it did me, but you should still watch it. Especially if you’ve watched any Jane Austen adaptation ever. Particularly Kiera Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice. Trust me on this. I shall say no more. You come back here when you’re done laughing and we can discuss all the finer points of this …you know, thing.
Jane Austen’s Period Drama will premiere at the Hollyshorts Film Festival.
