Call Jane & Marry Sara

Call Jane is based on a true story (I checked out a recent version -- if before Dobbs -- of a book talking about it).  Some women had an abortion referral service before it was legal.  And, eventually, they themselves (not doctors, but then they were using someone not one) performed them. A bit of feminism in action.  

The film version has Elizabeth Banks -- as a well-off lawyer's wife who has a medical problem but not bad enough to get a hospital committee to sign off on an abortion -- play a much bigger role. Banks, who can do drama and comedy well, is very good.  

Various other actors have smaller roles, including Sigourney Weaver as a leader of the Jane collective and Kate Mara as Banks' friend and neighbor.  The film ends on the day Roe v. Wade was decided, with the group burning cards of patients, and Weaver's character saying they can close up shop.  

Who are the Janes today in places like Texas? 

The latest book review entry for a companion blog is some romantic comedy books, some of which I myself read or watched.  I noted in a part edited out that they are so many romance books out there (even focusing on comedy) that it's arbitrary to pick around ten.  But, now and then, I find a pleasant one.  

The above -- though it loses its way a bit near the end (a bit of tacked-on excitement pads the book a bit too much) -- is mostly of that caliber.  There is nothing really special about the story of a smart older sister sometime in the later 19th Century (a few markers that suggest a rough time period) in Britain whose marriage of convenience with a scandalous duke with a heart of gold.  But, it was a pleasant enough quick read.  

I just happened to see it in the library (these books are often judged by covers) -- the romance section is near the counter -- and it was a good pick. These things are a matter of chance. I liked another romance last year and when I checked another by the same author, didn't like that one.  My other thought is that they should have a channel with films made out of these things.  Guess the Amish ones pop up on Up TV now and then!