Bridget Jones (Renee Zelwegger) first graced us with her comical spinster presence in 2001. She was thirty-two. It was New Year’s Eve, and she arrived single at her mum’s turkey curry buffet as a ‘singleton.’ Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) was wearing his silly Christmas reindeer sweater at first sight, and well, the rest was history.
Based on the novel by Helen Fielding, and having a huge fan base in London to what Sex & The City is here in America, it’s now some fifteen years later. We find our beloved Bridget back at her frumpy apartment and asking herself “How the HELL did I end up here again?” But far worse, she’s older, and wearing crow’s feet around her eyes and life’s disappointments around her heart. We’re all getting older. But will a younger generation of movie goers remember her and the time gap of the original Bridget Jones? I’m not sure it matters.
Bridget still has that spark of hope, if she can only navigate the new dating world of botox, tinder, texting, sexting and snapchat. As a matter of fact, her office BFF, Miranda (Sarah Solemani) is about to take her on a sexual-free-for-all weekend. Upon arrival, the girls whoop it up to a drowning-out-techno-soundtrack of drinking, dancing and hitting on men that include a hook up with Jack (Patrick Dempsey). Albeit she blows off (cameo appearance by) Ed Sheeran. At a certain point you think to yourself ‘no wonder this 43 year old is single. No man will take her seriously until she takes herself seriously.’
Then the pregnancy stick turns blue, and suddenly Bridget DOES have to take herself and her life seriously. This is when the film sinks into a comfortable place of melancholy and memory…of droll humor amidst a comedy of errors. Emma Thompson adds the right dose of humor as Bridget’s obstetrician.
There’s more soundtrack than dialog, but the love triangle of Mark Darcy, Jack and Bridget works well enough. Darcy is a grumpy intellect…a stuffy British gent as ever, and Jack is a Love Guru with a best-selling book. Dempsey is charming and delightful to look at, but he’s not Hugh Grant. Who could be? What makes this film special is the happiest ending of the year. A belief that fairy tales do come true and movies are meant to entertain. And a slam dunk set up for a third Bridget Jones. In the meantime, Bridget Jones’s baby delivers! ♚ ♚ ♛