Liars and Saints

  The new movie "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life" has been marketed as a rom-com but in fact is a drama; misogyny, and possibly *internalized* misogyny, leads artists to mislabel their work.  ("Girls" and "Better Things" were both dramas, but someone decided they were "less dramatic" than "Friday Night Lights" or "Mad Men." The latter set of shows was *not* marketed as a set of comedies....) "Jane Austen" concerns Agathe, who once lost both of her parents in a car accident. Agathe works at Shakespeare and Company, in Paris, but really she's a writer. Her life seems frozen; she doesn't date, and she can't complete a writing assignment, although she has talent. Mostly, she sits at the kitchen table and watches her more vibrant sister, who can't keep track of her own bedmates. ("Agathe, this is Raphael. Or is it Gabriel? Gabriel? Raphael?") A friend secretly submits Agathe's work to a kind of ...

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters; they're both smart and hot, and they don't have any money. Marianne is a thing some journalists would label "a messy bitch." She pays limited attention to the social graces. If someone near her is an idiot, she can't be bothered to do the good girl thing where you're like: I'm working really hard to pretend you're not an idiot. Instead, Marianne is just short of openly contemptuous, and then she'll wander off and inspect her host's private library, and the host is like: Wait, you're my guest. You should be chatting with me right now. Elinor is sort of insufferably perfect, and she is invested in judging things accurately. It's childish to find drama where there isn't drama, to exaggerate, to stir and stir and stir the pot. (The fools in this novel like to use the adjective "monstrous." As in: "I'm monstrous excited to meet that new horse!" Or: "I'm mo...

A closeted high-school kid falls for another closeted kid. The two boys have an anonymous e-mail correspondence. (Like "She Loves Me," sort of!) Flirtatious moments occur. Feelings grow. Can a meeting happen? With masks? With disguised voices?   Meanwhile, our closeted hero, Simon, also has an irritating frenemy, Martin. Martin wants help "courting" Abby. Simon knows Abby; Martin knows Simon's secret. If Simon doesn't help, an "outing" may occur..... This has Jane Austen vibes. Also, I prefer the book ("Simon versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda") to the movie ("Love, Simon"). The book has tiny details the movie didn't have time for. My favorite: Simon's family plays Scattergories, and the challenge is "famous trios and duos, starting with A." An obvious answer: "Adam and Eve." A better answer: "The Axis Powers." Take your fun where you can find it. "Simon" is delightful and ...