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Lizzie sets a great example for teen girls today.

In recent months, my girls and I have really enjoyed settling down for an evening of videos. Admittedly, it's hard to find a common evening when we're all free, but when we do, it's really a treat. We truly look forward to eating dinner in the den, dimming the lights and getting into a movie that we'll all appreciate. I especially like the ones that have a message, though I challenge any mother to find movies with perfect heroines, no sex and a great message every single time. It just doesn't happen. Not if you want the kids to agree on the movie choice - every time.

Anyway, now and then I will offer reviews of some of our recent vidoe choices that have squeaked by on my ever so strict Mom-o-meter on the "Sex/Violence/Profanity" scale and have also withstood the teen "Hip/Fun/Wow" scale. And as I said, that is not always so easyily accomplished. I should also point out that the Dad-o-meter is a different thing altogether. The Dad-o-meter often leaves Big Strong Man snoring through some of these selections. I'll try to point that out where applicable.

Today’s Selection: Pride & Prejudice

PG, Running Time: 2 hrs, 9 minutes

Keira Knightley, Matthey MacFadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland

The story centers around the Bennet family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have 5 daughters in 1790's England. Though not poor, they are a family of modest means, and when the wealthy Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy move into the estate "next door", Mrs. Bennet focuses all of her attentions on marrying off her eldest daughters to these good bachelors of fortune. Some particulars that I love about this story are the fact of how present Mr. Bennet is in his daughters' lives. Lizzie, the central character, is his obvious favorite, and her happiness is his greatest concern, despite the fact that marrying her off to the richest landowner with the ultimate dowry to offer would benefit his family's financial situation greatly. His family truly has very little. Yet, he still has Lizzie's best interests at heart. Not exactly common for the times.

As you've probably guessed by now, Pride & Prejudice scores super high on the Mom-o-Meter for sure (and certainly didn't squeak by - it was a slam dunk!). I have to say, though, when I first suggested it to my older daughter a couple of years ago, she wasn't so sure about it. We watched it anyway, and she really enjoyed it the first time. Then, a few months later in 9th grade, she read it in her Lit class and completely fell in love with it. Having delved into Jane Austen's primary characters of Lizzie and Mr. Darcy (and learning how far ahead of her time Jane Austen was), she saw the story from a different perspective. After reading the book, Princess in Waiting couldn't wait to watch the movie again with a fresh set of eyes. She now owns this movie and has seen it start to finish no fewer than 15 (possibly even 20) times. She's read the book at least three times cover to cover, and I think she'd like to be teleported back to the late 18th century when the story takes place. Teen in Line loves it, too, just not to the overwhelming extent of her older sib. The Dad-o-Meter gave this one a thumb's up, too.

Final Analysis:    4 1/2 Crowns

(There has to be some room for improvement, right?)