Longer Review: It was really bad.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I don't particularly like romantic comedies. There are one or two exceptions, but admittedly the chances were never good that I would enjoy Austenland. A couple of misguided individuals thought that, since I enjoy reading Austen's books- and watching film adaptations of them- I might like a send up of Austen's works and fans. This is certainly possible: I enjoy clever humour even when it's directed at works that I love. Certainly Austen herself had a fondness for satirical writing: see Northanger Abbey. But the thing about satire is that it has to be witty and clever... Austenland is neither. It's basically one joke stretched out over an hour and a half: a pathetic thirty-something woman with a Mr. Darcy fetish blows her savings on a trip to a Jane Austen themed resort in England where guests spend their stay living on a recreated Regency era estate. Even having spent all her money, she can only afford the cheaper package so doesn't get the elite treatment the other guests enjoy. Are you laughing yet? Now, don't be shocked, but there are two handsome men in play, one charming and sympathetic and one crabby and sarcastic. And-get this- it turns out that the charming guy isn't what he seems.
I haven't really described the plot, such as it is; things happen, but they're not particularly interesting or funny... I don't think I laughed once. Even the presence of Jennifer Coolidge, who made me laugh a couple times when a sister coerced me into sitting through A Cinderella Story, couldn't help Austenland.
This is, of course, the opinion of a self-confessed Rom-Com hater, so it's entirely possible that some might find this film mildly entertaining. I can't imagine though, that anyone would find it particularly funny- or romantic, for that matter. Because it's not.