Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe: Movie Review

Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate link(s). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe

Runtime- 1h 22m

Air date- November 23, 2018

Director-  Don McBrearty

Writers- Melissa de la Cruz, Nina Weinman

Filming locations- Ontario, Canada

Starring: Lacey Chabert as Darcy, and Brendan Penny as Luke

Where to watch- steam on Peacock or rent/buy on Prime Video

Source

Summary

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe starts with Darcy Fitzwilliam, a successful partner in an investment firm, taking time away from work to return home for the holidays. Upon arriving home, she jumps right in to help her mother with the Pemberley League Annual Auction. With a tight schedule and everything at the last minute, Darcy not only has to juggle to get the auction together. She also juggles an ex-boyfriend, an old high school rival, and a business partner trying to give her the boot. And to add the cherry on top, her father wants her to come back into the family business. Darcy is faced with many challenges which lead to her having to decide what she wants and who she wants.

“First Impressions”

With Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen being the first Hallmark Jane Austen-inspired film I have seen. I entered watching this film with some realistic expectations. Part of my enjoyment of watching the film was to see how many of Jane Austen’s characters in Pride & Prejudice were also in Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe. As well as how these characters showed up and portrayed in this film. Immediately, I saw they did a gender-bend with Darcy. Flipping Darcy’s name and swapping the gender of the character was a different take. I did like that creative choice. I was curious to see the other characters.

The Search for Characters

The obvious characters were Luke and Jim Bennett to represent the Bennett sisters Lizzie and Janes. With having the respected characters sharing the same first initial. Luke, Darcy’s debate rival in high school, just bought an old restaurant, skilled and eager enough to cater the Pemberley League Auction. 

There were others that took me a moment to wonder if this was the character adapted from the book to the movie. For example, Carl, Darcy’s ex-boyfriend, also working for Darcy’s father, could be seen as Caroline Bingley in this story. Caylee, Darcy’s good friend, as the Charles Bingley. Another of my best guess for the character Austen, Darcy’s firm partner, for the Wickham character.

There was one character that was maybe a big stretch. I was back and forth on this during the whole movie whether if Darcy’s mother was the role of Lady Catherine De Bourg. The character overall really didn’t embody Jane Austen’s character. Other than the persistent need for the finer things for the Pemberley Auction. Even if Darcy’s mother was to be Lady Catherine, Lady Catherine herself doesn’t fit the bill of the textbook Hallmark movie parent. It is a Hallmark movie. Doing a full comparison of characters in Jane Austen’s book to a Hallmark movie isn’t realistic to begin with. Speaking of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, this movie is based on the book Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz. I have not yet read it, but judging from an IMBd review, the book and movie were not so similar.

Theme

I’ve been mulling over this movie and seeing how it compares to Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice regarding the theme. Looking for issues of characters with pride and using prejudice. This movie is an adaptation of the book, Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe. Which is also an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. So there is some dilution overall. 

I will say there has been about one example of pride in the main character, Darcy, and letting pride dictate her in some way. Expressing to Luke that she wanted to do her own thing and not get involved with her father’s business. Stating that it being due to how she felt her father’s employees treated her, and wanting to prove herself.

In terms of “prejudice,” Luke and Darcy did have a heart-to-heart moment about how hard they had to work despite how each other sees them as achieving things effortlessly and with luck.

I felt like I had to reach for this comparison. It happens briefly, and I did not see a rivalry between Luke and Darcy, only through hearsay of their past in high school, and even then it was not so heated but more like light flirting.

So did this movie adapt to the theme of the original Pride & Prejudice? Sort of yes… but not really, at least not in a consistent and big way if you are comparing it to the theme of Austen’s novel.

Final Thoughts

I did enjoy watching it. I felt they did a good Hallmark movie while working into some elements of the novel, Pride & Prejudice, not so sure about the other book Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe. Even though I am still curious about making the “villainy” character named after Austen.

Would I watch it again? Yes, but again as with Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen, with more on the line of easy and lax watching.

See Also:

Christmas at Pemberley Manor Movie Review

Sense, Sensibility, and Snowmen Movie Review

Share your thoughts