Starring Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Embeth Davidtz, Jim Broadbent,
Gemma Jones. Directed by Sharon Maguire.
Bridget Jones (Zellweger) is a 32 years-old "singleton" in London England, forever
looking for Mr. Right but always ending up with Mr. Wrong. She writes the events
in her life in her diary, especially the quantities of ciggies and booze she consumes,
and her resolutions for self-improvement. Her mom (Jones) is forever trying to set
her up with some local boy whenever she goes home. One
such prospect is next door neighbour Mark Darcy (Firth) who she used to know when
they were kids. Now an up-and-coming barrister, she immediately hates him after
she starts babbling uncontrollably and he devastatingly dismisses her to a friend
within earshot. At work, she catches the eye of her boss Daniel Cleaver (Grant),
and after exchanging witty, suggestive e-mails, they begin an affair. Charming,
great-looking and a lot of fun, Daniel is also a notorious womanizer not prone to
committment. Soon, he slips up, and he's out the door. Bridget is alone again.
Bridget looks for a new job, and lands one as a TV journalist. At the same time,
her mother is swept up by the affections of a TV Shopping Channel host, and leaves
her befuddled father (Broadbent) at home and alone. Bridget begins to spend more
time with him, and together they wallow in their loneliness. Will Bridget be able
to find true love, or is it TV, ciggies, booze and loneliness forever?
Lest you think this is just another romantic comedy with a fabulous babe like Ashley Judd
or Julia Roberts, it is not. It is not even a fabulous babe like Renee Zellweger -
instead it is Renee Zellweger with about 20 more pounds, pounding back chocolate, ciggies
and copious quantities of vodka. Based on the 1996 best selling book, Bridget is not
unattractive, just a regular woman. The theme of the book and the movie, and one which
Bridget doesn't at first subscribe to, is Bridget seeks someone to love her just the way
she is, and for someone to love just the way he is.
The film is not sappy like that description might indicate. The writing in the script is
excellent. Witty, often vulgar, with just the right amount of acid, the dialogue is
often hilarious and occasionally surprising. The interplay between Grant and Zellweger
is especially good, and their scenes are the best written and funniest parts of the film.
Unfortunately, some situations are not as well done. Several scenes - Bridget lip-syncing
to a female version of Eric Carmen's All By Myself, Bridget embarrassingly introducing
a client writer, and Bridget interrupting Mark's father at a large party are unnecessarily
cringe-worthy and go on for too long. The ending is a bit too cute and contrived, but then
realism and romantic comedy do not alway go hand-in-hand. On the other hand, Bridget's
consuming desire to find an acceptable man is nicely counter-balanced by the downside
of marriage in her parents' mid-life uncertainty as to whether it was all worth it.
The casting and performances are excellent from top to bottom. Renee Zellweger is perfect
as the fleshy, awkward Bridget. After about three sentences from her, I forgot what
her real accent sounded like, and she just blended into the role.
Hugh Grant has never been better. Given a chance to display a nastier side, he is
funny, glib and the best scenes and dialogue invariably involve him. Colin Firth has
the least showy role as the uptight, upright suitor - Niles Crane without the laughter
- but he ably displays Darcy's warmth and decency below the surface.
I do not generally like romantic comedies - they're usually light on the
comedy and heavy on the romance (the sappy kind). Bridget Jones's Diary is
a romantic comedy that both men and women can enjoy.
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