Actress Emma Hutton is determined to play matchmaker for her friend Hope, but in the process, hearts get trampled, including her own.
Starring: Monica Moore Smith and Dan Fowlks
Image: Great American Media
My Movie Grade: B-
Happily Ever Emma is a Modern Spin on a Classic Jane Austen Story
In Jane Austen's classic tale, Emma is a beautiful and smart young woman who is overly confident in her matchmaking capabilities, which leads to some serious romantic blunders.
Great American Family's film adaptation effectively captures the essence of the original story.
If you found yourself not liking Monica Moore Smith's portrayal of Emma, it could be less about her acting and more about the fact that Austen's Emma is very spoiled, interfering, and lacks self-awareness, and these personality components shine through GAF's character.
In both the book and film, Emma isn't interested in romance or marriage, but she fancies herself an expert at playing matchmaker for others. This couldn't be further from the truth!
When movie Emma tries to push Zane Elton and Hope together, it backfires because she learns Zane is actually in love with her. This parallels the novel because Austen's Emma tries to connect the village vicar, Mr. Elton, with a young woman named Harriet. Mr. Elton only spends time with Harriet to please Emma, and once he confesses his love for Emma, which is not reciprocated, he leaves and Emma must spend days consoling Harriet. (Hope's emotional recovery is much shorter!)
Zane's confession of love right before Emma's audition throws her, but it helps her act "conflicted," which ultimately lands her the role. Image: Great American Media
In the novel, Emma has fleeting feelings for a man named Frank (whom GAF renames Barry). She learns he's been secretly engaged to another woman, Jane, who is socially beneath his class. He merely flirts with Emma as a ruse to buy time while he works on convincing his family to accept Jane. The movie is less about class conflict and more about a rich Barry using Emma to catapult his acting career, much to the chagrin of his father who expects him to work for the family law firm, while failing to mention he has a girlfriend named Jocelyn.
In Austen's original plot, Harriet falls in love with Mr. Knightley who saves her from embarrassment at a ball when Mr. Elton, who now has a new wife, snubs her. This lines up with movie Gray playing the gentleman to Hope after Zane is rude to her at a local café.
In both the novel and the movie, Emma realizes she's in love with Mr. Knightley, her close friend, and he confesses his love for her, too.
Image: Great American Media
While Hope winds up on the losing end and decides to focus on her job instead of romance, her archetype, Harriet, marries a farmer named Robert--a man who loves her from the beginning of the novel but whom Emma dismisses as being beneath Harriet. Had Emma just allowed nature to run its course, there would have been fewer hurt feelings and heartache!
The biggest distinction between the book and novel is the emphasis, or lack thereof, on social status. During Austen's time, social classes did not interact, much less intermarry. She satirizes this construct in her novel, but today, anything goes! Most people no longer marry based on family name, wealth, or reputation, so it's really a non-issue in the movie.
How Do You Feel About Movie Emma?
The movie Emma is someone who is seemingly unaware of her effect on the men in her life.
If you were single, wouldn't you hate being Emma's friend, especially if you were Hope? Emma has the gall to ask Hope for advice on choosing an outfit for her date--right after Hope is let down by Zane. How insensitive! Emma even acknowledges her ill-timed request, but it doesn't stop her from parading her wardrobe choices in front of Hope.
Emma is lauded as being a person who picks great friends and who hasn't allowed fame to change her personality. She's described as a warm and caring friend, but is she?
She's always talking about her career, her plans, and her romantic pursuits. Even playing matchmaker seems more about her own self-gratification than helping two people find love.
As a viewer, it's difficult to put aside Austen's intentional characterization of Emma. Seeing it acted out on screen makes it hard to like Emma--or is it the actress's portrayal of her? You decide by casting your vote in the opinion poll below:
Do You Think Happily Ever Emma Is Humorous?
Since there are so many characters introduced at once, Great American Family experimented with adding more "com" into this rom-com version of Emma. This involved freeze-framing each person while attaching a short note that included their name, character description, or commentary to make it easier for viewers to follow.
In this scene, Hope recognizes Zane in a café and tries to talk to him, but he rudely blows her off and embarrasses her in front of a crowd. Image: Great American Media
Barry invites Emma to a party, but it's just a ruse to help him bust into acting. She's also shocked to learn he has a girlfriend! Image: Great American Media
Personally, I found this retro way of engaging the audience mildly amusing, though not comedic. When I think of comedy, I expect playful banter between characters using humorous dialogue or situational comedy where their reactions make me laugh.
When Gray takes Emma as his date to the office party, do you notice everyone but her is dressed in drab and demure colors? She is clothed in bright red to make her stand out, and it is so obvious that it's funny, though I'm guessing this may have been unintentional comedy on GAF's part.
**What are your thoughts on balancing romance and comedy in rom-coms? How do prefer each component be weighted--heavier on the romance, more comedy, or an equal combination of both?**
Share your thoughts in the comment section!
I'd enjoy fifty-percent romance and twenty-five percent comedy. As for the remaining twenty-five percent, I'd love for GAF to develop some roma-dramas for their movie slate that tug on the heartstrings and require a few tissues.
The Happily Ever Emma Cast Has Familiar Faces
It's fun to watch Great American Family and recognize faces you've seen before--and then try to remember the movies in which they starred. The Happily Ever Emma cast has at least four faces that should look familiar.
Sashleigha plays one of Emma's best friends, Elinor, who is fired by her step-brother but finds a job at Gray's law firm. Sashleigha also starred as "Amber" in Love in Aruba.
Mikayla Iverson plays the unlucky-in-love Hope, but you may remember her as "Whitney" from Prescription for Love.
Who can forget Mason D. Davis from Identical Love? In fact, GAF references this movie in their freeze-frame description of "Barry Bell."
Interestingly, Jason Celaya, who plays the rude Zane Elton, also had a supporting role in a 2011 adaptation of another Jane Austen novel. He played Mr. Willoughby in Scents and Sensibility with Ashley Williams.
Happily Ever Emma was first released in 2021 under the title Lights, Camera, Romance. It was filmed in Provo, Utah.
Get the Book & Join Great American Family's Book Club!
Great American Family has launched a book club where you can sign-up to participate in Zoom discussions covering the books they have turned into movies. Jane Austen's Emma is the first one they will be conversing about on March 16, 2023, at 7pm Eastern. You can register here.
In the meantime, be sure to pick up your own copy of Emma, or maybe even add all of Austen's works to your book collection--they are classic!
Movies are great, but the original books are better!
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