Romancey Pants

Duck: Friends, ever since I read that a diverse Hallmark adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility was coming out this year, I’ve been super-ducking excited. And the movie did not disappoint my flippers. It’s honestly one of the best Jane Austen adaptations I’ve seen. (Generally speaking, ducks LOVE Austen.) In fact, the film’s diversity tickled our beak-holes so perfectly that we’ve decided to add an additional flipper scale for diversity to all movies we review from now on.

Star: Agreed! Why wouldn’t we specifically reward diverse movies, regardless of what our other opinions might be? Anyway, it was ducking powerful to be gifted this 19th-century cast of Free Black and Mixed Race characters in Ton society. As Vanessa Riley, lead historian on the Hallmark adaptation, says in this cool interview at Essence, the film is a reminder that “Regency history is Black history.” And I do recommend the interview—it so articulately addresses the beak-to-flippers richness that this adaptation of Austen’s novel has to offer.

Duck: And what a cast! Deborah Ayorinde (Them, Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall) was fantastic as the lead character Elinor Dashwood, giving an emotionally nuanced, passionate performance that simply shone with strength and depth. In fact, my feathers were so primped by Ayorinde’s performance that we’ve added a new Romanceypants graphic. You’ll be seeing it around when we feel like a movie needs some talented femme pizzazz!

Bethany Antonia also gave a wonderful, brightly-focused performance as Marianne Dashwood. As the Dashwood sister protagonists, she and Ayorinde shared powerful chemistry that—even though I’d just been gifted a free goldfish burger—made it hard to look away. I was wrapt by these peformances. (Burger was just okay.)

Star: The historical perspective was enlightening, the casting was fantastic, the diversity was strong, and we really appreciated the vividness of the settings, too. Now, Hallmark! You’re really kicking flipper, this year! How’s about now giving us further diverse adaptations? Since LGBTQIA+ folks were also members of the Ton, as were disabled and neurodiverse folks, let’s continue with these wonderfully diverse, historically informed adaptations!

After all, Austen was all about diversity herself. In fact, here’s a wonderful excerpt from the Essence interview with Vanessa Riley:

There have been quite a few adaptations of Jane Austen and the reason is that it resonates with everyone. But, what most people fail to realize is that she was extremely progressive in her views. That’s why when you get to Sanditon, she is one of the first authors who wrote literature in her period that places Miss Lambe, a Mulatta woman, and West Indian woman as the richest woman in the book. Jane Austen wrote about real people. There is an actual real Mr. Darcy who broke her heart. As of result of her connections with her family, Austen experienced women like Miss Lambe and included her in the literary canon.  Jane Austen was very inclusive, and I think it’s natural for writers, producers, and storytellers to reimagine these narratives. From a historical perspective, many people only think of Black people from the context of enslavement. Our legacy is so much more nuanced than that.

Star: Wow, thanks, Vanessa Riley, for these important and inspiring insights! This is super-ducking awesome to read and consider. We haven’t read or seen Sanditon, but we’re on it now!

Duck: The thought of that makes me want to drop onto a pond and paddle with all my might towards the sunrise.

Star: Wow, Duck. You just gave me chills.

Duck: Well, catching an early sunrise does mean risking cold flippers.

Star: Wise you are to boot.

Ducks: Thanks! Boots would help.

Sense and Sensibility recently streamed on The Hallmark Channel. Find out more about the movie at Hallmark.

Featured image courtesy of Hallmark and Star Tavares