The return of Bridget Jones has been welcomed with open arms by many of us, but met with groans by others who thought the hapless heroine had bid us farewell with The Edge of Reason twelve years ago.
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When I realized that there was a serious move to get this going again, Emma Thompson’s involvement, you know, the draft that she wrote me, it convinced me that there was a real possibility of a film here.
Here is that list: 1) Hugh Grant (“But I don’t think he’s in it.”) 2) Drunk Bridget. She simply looks healthy and happy – attributes also reflected in Bridget’s evolution. But Bridget’s always been one for self-improvement, so when it comes to her love life, she’s is determined to make new mistakes, not old ones. She’s in danger of losing her job as a nightly news producer because a murder of Millenials (led by a hilarious Kate O’Flynn) are taking over and shaking things up.
Aged 43, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is struggling with the trials of life.
For lighter fare, that quirky, lovable Bridget Jones is back!
Zellweger slips back into the title role easily, oozing lovability, fragility and regret as she wonders how to broach the subject of paternity with her two suitors.
Bridget Jones’s Baby is now in wide release. As Zellweger explains, “We wanted to be so careful that we made a film that didn’t rely on everybody’s nostalgia for the characters or their affection for the characters but that we were making a film-well, a worthwhile film, a film that could stand on its own despite being part of this franchise”. “I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things”, she previously told People.
Jimmy, who will host the Emmy Awards on Sunday, said: ‘When you do somebody’s wedding it’s a very important day in their lives – arguably more important than the Emmys are to, say, Kevin Spacey’.
Instead of telling Mark and Jack that each of them might be the father, she lets them both believe that they are actually the father.
Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth are back for the third installment in the “Bridget Jones” series, but Jones’s love interest this time around is a charming American played by Patrick Dempsey. “Not work. Nothing.” This older Bridget is way more secure and unapologetic (though still bumbling enough to stay true to character), breezily leaving both Darcy and Jack in bed the morning after their respective nights of fun without any intent of (re) kindling romance. Also, often sequels aren’t as good as the original, and I remember thinking the second movie, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was good, but not as good as the first one, so I was anxious this one wouldn’t be as entertaining as the first movie.
Director Sharon Maguire (reprising that role from the original) wrings what humor she can from what feels like an awfully familiar, bordering-on-tired premise for a romantic comedy. When she was 30, and was nowhere near being in love with children, or finding those answers, I felt that was definitely me then.
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It’s all possible thanks to a performance by Zellweger that is so exquisite, you won’t feel ready to say goodbye to Bridget when the credits start rolling. We have affection for her, and she holds a lot of meaning for us. The Texas actress gained 20 pounds and mastered the intricacies of the greater London accent to play the disaster-prone career girl in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, the 2001 hit based on the novels of Helen Fielding.
