Scents and Sensibility

Anything resembling Jane Austen was purely coincidental. This is really a goody-two-shoes Hallmark knock off. The characters were not completely or even partially developed. The costumes were a joke. The music was annoying.

The acting is at an atrocious high school play level.

This film is an extremely drab and slow moving version and only a hint of the real story peeks through.

Even if you don't know the original story, this over simplistic script

blatantly telegraphs the outcome.

I gave it 2 stars because the only interesting aspect is the beautiful Utah outdoor scenery,

otherwise this is a waste of 89 minutes of your life.

Both female leads were excellent in their roles and for a modern twist on an old classic I'd give 9/10 (though I'd rate the whole movie a 6/10). Williams fabulously portrayed the older sister in this movie - very credible depiction of a sensible sibling who tries hard to make everything work. Similarly, Sokoloff managed to pull off a very tough job of making a romance obsessed character likable.

I thought the fall from wealth to the working class was well done. That said, in both Austen's book and this work, the family hardly experiences complete loss nor does the foray into say "working class" or "middle class" really depict the toughness of life for the overwhelming majority of the world.

Definitely appreciated a clean movie (no unnecessary violence, obscenity, vulgarity, etc.)

I'd rate the entire movie middle-of-the-road though (despite the excellent acting of the 2 leads) for a few reasons. First, most of the side characters seemed one-dimensional and over-the-top. Second, though I greatly appreciated the focus on family ties and delving into the foundations of relationships I don't know exactly what the take-away message is from either Austen's book or this movie. Sure, note that we could take either an emotional or sensible approach to finding a life mate. But beyond that what is the main message? Even if you develop really shallow relationships and don't try to understand why, it might just all work out in the next connection? Put your effort on re-claiming lost prestige and status? That might be too harsh for die hard fans of Austen but to me the message of a movie is what carries most weight and I couldn't quite decipher what that message was.

Elinor Dashwood (Ashley Williams) and her more flighty sister, Marianne (Marla Sokoloff) get the most terrible news. Their father has been accused of running a ponzi-type investment company and is hauled off to jail. Used to many luxuries as "rich gals", this is harsh. Mother goes to live with an aunt, taking cancer stricken younger sister Margaret along. Her medicine alone is costly. Thus, our two Miss Dashwoods have to get jobs. Unluckily, their last name is a detriment to employment. Finally, Eleanor gets a lowly position as a spa girl-of-all-tasks while Marianne lies about her last name is snags as a job as the copy woman for a large firm. Still, paying bills is difficult. Making things worse is their vehicle, a rundown truck, which often leaves them in a bind. Also, Marianne's boyfriend of many years is away in Switzerland, making her lonely. But, silver linings arrive. Elinor meets a handsome lawyer, brother to the grumpy spa owner, while Marianne starts to become friends with a bright young executive colleague. Most importantly, an herbal cream that Marianne has invented becomes a hit at the spa, with women buying bottles left and right. Caution, ladies! Someone is still out to make major trouble for you both! This lovely update of Austen's classic is nicely done. Then, again, I could watch an infinite number of variations of such a great book! Williams and Sokoloff are fine as the indomitable Dashwood gals while the men in their lives are handsome and talented actors. In fact, all of the cast does good work. Then, too, costumes are terrific, as are sets, script and zesty direction. By all means, romcom and Austen fans. It just makes sense to seek this one out!

When I saw this movie listed on Neflix and saw who all was in the cast I had great hopes for this movie. The lovely Marla Sokoloff, the well-seasoned actress Ashley Williams, and the likable Nick Zano being in the movie pushed me to set aside time from my busy day and check this movie out. What a disappointment it turned out to be. The acting was flat. But, you can't blame the cast. The writing was quite uninspired and the only thing that would have saved this movie is if the cast was allowed to have free reign to ad lib their scenes. There is no doubt in my mind that they could have come up with better material than was presented in this drab movie. Did the Director even read through the script before taking on this project? No one in their right mind could've thought that the screenplay could be salvaged without a major over-haul. The title should have been "Keep on movin' folks, nothing to see here." I wish I'd been warned first before I took a chance on this disaster. My deepest sympathies to the cast. I hope your careers did not take a too big of hit for being associated with this perfectly forgettable screenplay.

Based on the novel by Jane Austin, "Sense and Sensibility" the movie does not actually capture the characters and does not even attempt to address the philosophical question, sense vs sensibility that makes the book what it is.

All the characters are there but the acting is insipid, the dialogue stilted and the directing amateur. Whoever did the costume should find another job because the dress of women who "grew up going to golf tournaments and garden parties" looks like it came from Walmart.

Watching awkward scenes with people who don't seem to have any feeling about what they are saying is embarrassing to say the least and I only left it on while I was busy in the kitchen or I would have had to switch it off. My husband already switched it off 5 minutes in after watching a character have a secretive conversation about her boyfriend while sitting a hand span away from him.

Don't waste your time.