BRIDE & PREJUDICE — ** — Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Daniel Gillies; rated PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity, violence).
If nothing else, give "Bride & Prejudice" points for being the most original of the many big-screen versions of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." None of the others were "Bollywood"-style extravaganzas, nor did they feature song-and-dance numbers, as does director Gurinder Chadha's version.
The story has been moved to India, and Austen's strong-willed heroine Elizabeth Bennet has become Lalita Bakshi. As played by Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, she's still got strong opinions, especially when her mother (Nadira Babbar) decides to get her — and the rest of her daughters — married off to wealthy men.
At least one of the daughters, Jaya (Namrata Shirodkar), has found a good prospect in wealthy lawyer Balraj Bingley (Naveen Andrews). It also appears that his best friend, American hotel magnate Will Darcy (Martin Henderson), has taken a liking to Lalita.
But due to a series of misunderstandings, Lalita has nothing but contempt for Will. Worse, she's taken up with his rival, John Wickham (Daniel Gillies).
While most of the story is set in India, Chadha has added some Hollywood touches, such as using a gospel choir in one song and having R&B singer Ashanti perform another.
Unfortunately, the only times the film really comes to life are during the production numbers, which are sometimes completely, ridiculously over-the-top, and which feature some of the most banal, trite sentiments heard outside of an "American Idol" audition.
Yet, as ghastly as some of the song-and-dance numbers are, they're also surprisingly entertaining — in a goofy, cheesy fun sort of way
Which is more than you can say for the rest of the film. When "Bride & Prejudice" slows down for dialogue and character development, it goes horribly out of step, becoming shrill and off-key.
And it was a bad decision to pair Rai with Australian actor Henderson, who comes up a little short in the charisma department. Darcy is supposed to be abrasive at first, but here he's just dull.
Unfortunately, Andrews, from TV's "Lost," is completely misused. He's one of the few performers here that actually adds some spark and energy.
"Bride & Prejudice" is rated PG-13 for some suggestive song lyrics and dialogue, scattered use of profanity and a brief scene of violence (some fisticuffs). Running time: 111 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com