2024 Movie
Dir. Peter Wellington · Canada, United States of America · English
A modest but endearing romcom whose characters actually act their own age
Despite the fact that this isn’t the light fantasy romcom it seems to present itself as at the onset, Paging Mr. Darcy nevertheless becomes a breezy, likable little TV movie because it allows its main characters to be adult human beings. The story is still mostly fluff that ends far too abruptly, but for the most part, watching these two walk around and flirt from the very beginning makes for pleasant viewing. There isn’t any pressure placed on these people to fabricate some sort of will-they-won’t-they dynamic or to act accordingly to Jane Austen’s work, and the result is a romance that feels so much simpler and so much more authentic than a Hallmark movie probably deserves.
When an overly serious scholar attends a Jane Austen annual conference, she strikes a deal with the man playing Mr. Darcy and finds her perspective, and her heart, changed.
A literature scholar and a man paid to play Mr. Darcy agree to help each other with their respective issues at an annual Jane Austen conference.
Sometimes the mark of great romantic chemistry between actors isn't about how well they can smolder at each other but how convincing it looks when they bicker and goof around. Mallory Jansen and Will Kemp match each other's sillier energies very well, responding to each other's lines with a real playfulness and without any vanity for themselves. It feels like they're entirely aware of the kind of movie they're in, the reputation these things tend to have, and the parts of themselves they don't want to give up just for an easy paycheck.
A significant number of movies were made by filming actors just flirting on camera, and we're all better off for it.
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
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