Sharon Maguire, who directed 2001’s practically ideal “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, the first film in the series, is back behind the camera, working from a script by author Helen Fielding, Emma Thompson (very amusing as an unamused doctor) and Dan Mazer.
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“I didn’t feel myself judging her about it”, says Zellweger.
Though the premise of “Bridget Jones’s Baby” makes it all seem like it’s all about the guy again, it’s never felt so much like Bridget’s story.
“She’s so familiar in so many ways and it was such a happy reunion because I love this character and I love playing her”.
Those strengths are an adult comic style, with embarrassing slapstick moments as well as single-girl pathos that make up her search for a connection, for physical attraction, and maybe even for lasting love. The actress was back juggling her affections for snobbish barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and her caddish boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).
All signs have pointed towards the latest Bridget Jones movie being a total disaster – but that’s not the narrative that is ultimately written. (As for 50, that might be time to face facts.) And so, “Bridget Jones’s Baby” seems fairly plausible.
As a comedy this movie is an accomplishment and Bridget Jones makes it look effortless.
Renee Zellweger is as charming as ever in “Bridget Jones’s Baby”, a lively return to form for the unlikely movie franchise about an ordinary woman and her professional and romantic woes.
A few weeks later, she has a date with a no-nonsense gynecologist (Emma Thompson stealing every scene she pops up in) who confirms: You’re having a baby!
But his absence is explained with such wry humour, and newcomer Patrick Dempsey fits in so well, you have to admire what screenwriter Fielding, Dan Mazer and Emma Thompson (who also amusingly acts as Bridget’s eyebrow-raising obstetrician) have managed to pull off here.
Bridget Jones’s Baby is just as wicked and silly as you’d hope, only on a more grown-up level, as befits the subject matter.
Numbing herself with self-pity and chardonnay, Bridget gets dragged (actually, shanghaied) to an outdoor music festival, where she pretty literally stumbles into bed with Jack (Patrick Dempsey, yes, still McDreamy), who turns out to be a wealthy entrepreneur. ‘It could be interesting to watch her improvising her way through motherhood.
Yet Bridget insists on a sex life, even when it’s far from the supportive partnership she had in mind.
After all, she might break a bone if she fell as often as she did in the first two films.
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Renée Zellweger brings to life the character of Bridget Jones with colors, thanks to the “onscreen magic” by film director Sharon Maguire and her leading actress according to a review by Empire Online. This is an integral point of access for the audience to empathise with Bridget. I’ll wager that in the sequel yet to come, Bridget will renegotiate Brexit, with Darcy as her legal eagle.
