Parents' Guide to

Bride and Prejudice

By Will Fertman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Fluffy Bollywood-style musical romance.

Movie PG-13 2005 111 minutes
Bride and Prejudice Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Meegan313
Meegan313 Adult
December 4, 2015
age 10+
crankylibrarian
crankylibrarian Parent
January 3, 2014
age 11+

Multicultural twist on a classic story

Swirling colors, swoony music and 4 beautiful sisters, in a Bollywood update of Jane Austen's _Pride and Prejudice_. Some terrific humor with goofy suitor Mr Kohli in the Mr Collins role. Concerns: teen sister Laki sings "maybe he's good in bed", then runs off (and apparently spends the night with) the rakish Wickham, who then gets beat up by Darcy as they are watching a somewhat disturbing Charles Bronson movie. Pros: great multicultural twist on a classic western story, reminding us how much we have in common, despite cultural differences.
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What's the Story?

By director Gurinder Chadha, responsible for the great Bend it Like Beckham, BRIDE AND PREJUDICE is a pretty faithful retelling of Jane Austin's "Pride and Prejudice". Lalita (Aishwarya Rai) is the second oldest daughter of a well-to-do Indian family, celebrating the arranged engagement of their oldest to the wealthy and handsome Balraj Bingley (Naveen Andrews), an Indian living in Britain. He's come to meet his future wife, and he's brought his aristocratic sister Kiran (Indira Varma) and American buddy William Darcy (Martin Henderson). It's Darcy's first time in India, and he's having trouble adjusting. So when a huge musical number breaks out, he just doesn't feel comfortable jumping into the swirling throng and dancing. To Lalita, he comes off as aloof, and she dismisses him as a boorish American, more interested in making money than in the beautiful culture around him. As in Austin's novel, Lalita and Darcy repeatedly grow closer and draw apart.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Bride and Prejudice is a fluffy Bollywood-style musical romance that will be fun for teens and parents who can forgive some half-baked lyrics. The film is beautiful -- the musical bits are swirls of choreographed color, with dozens of synchronized dancers reminiscent of Busby Berkeley productions.

The music never quite rises to the level of the dancing, however, and the tepid English lyrics in particular grow tiring as the movie goes on, as. The actors are charming, though, and the inevitable crisis near the end of the film gives the movie a needed pick-up.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how money affects the characters in the film. Which do the characters care about more, the cultural differences between India, England, and America or the economic differences? How does Lalita's perception of Darcy as a wealthy American affect her attitude toward him? How does Bijili seem to feel about America versus India?

Movie Details

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