Bridget Jones has made a decision. She will stop smoking, start dieting and cut down on her alcohol intake. She will develop inner poise and jumpstart her career. But, most importantly, Bridget resolves to find a “nice, sensible boyfriend.” At the start of the New Year, Bridget has had enough of the “emotional fuckwits” she is used to dating, and the family who constantly simper, “When are you going to get married?” What’s a girl to do?
In Bridget’s case, she starts a diary:
“This year will take total control of my life. Will make resolutions and keep them. Resolution Number One — in order to mark triumphant year in which everything stops being shit — will keep a diary,” it reads.
The film, based on Helen Fielding’s international best-seller “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” stars Renée Zellweger (“Jerry Maguire,” “Nurse Betty”) as Bridget, a thirty-something Brit living in a post-feminist world looking for love. The premise is, indeed a cliché. Nevertheless, “Bridget Jones” somehow manages to make a tired concept refreshing and genuinely enjoyable to watch.
The film centers, obviously, on Bridget and her struggle between two men: the dashing, enchanting Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, “Notting Hill,” “Mickey Blue Eyes”), and the snobby, yet surprisingly charming Mark Darcy (Colin Firth, “Shakespeare in Love”). Bridget’s family does its dysfunctional best to set her up with Darcy, a rich human-rights lawyer, but she instead falls for the sexy Cleaver, her boss. The connection between the two men is somewhat forced, as apparently Cleaver and Darcy used to be best friends until Cleaver had an affair with Darcy’s wife, resulting in a divorce and a good deal of animosity between the two. This association is absent in the novel, for good reason. The men’s past relationship demeans the battle for Bridget, taking away from the romantic elements that this kind of love triangle should portray.
Aside from this slight hitch, the rest of “Bridget Jones” flows with an incredible sense of momentum, ambling forward at an ideal pace, while taking all the proper pauses. After prolonged brooding over Cleaver, Bridget finally lures him with the combination of a short skirt and a clever wit. However, their relationship is inevitably doomed with Darcy lurking in the background. Bridget hates him, which of course means she will eventually love him. When Bridget catches Cleaver with another woman, she revives her resolution to take control of her life.
“At moments such as these, one has a choice: to either give up and accept spinsterhood and eventual eating by dogs or not. I choose not … and vodka,” she says.
Bridget begins a new career as a broadcast journalist, joins a gym to lose weight, listens to the advice of her friends, all the while reading her never-ending supply of self-help books. Still, it’s obvious that all is not lost for Bridget. This notion is culminated until the moment, when after bumping into her at a “smug married” party, Darcy finally confesses to Bridget that he likes her “just as she is.”
Zellweger, although best known for her “You had me at hello” role in one of the most popular romantic comedies of the `90s, is the perfect Bridget. She skillfully blends just the right amount of quirkiness, vulnerability and spunk that the role dictates. She may be American, which caused a good deal of controversy during casting, but Zellweger pulls off the accent flawlessly. Her comedic timing is dead on, which is essential for Bridget’s character, always attempting to find humor in each of the ridiculous situations she finds herself in.
Grant is the model Daniel Cleaver —funny, spontaneous, and oh-so British. In contrast to his former roles as the perpetual “nice guy,” Grant is finally able to play a character with that rebellious edge, making Cleaver the bad guy you secretly like anyway. Firth portrays the haughty Mark Darcy wonderfully, if not at times a little too well. Despite the warmth and depth of character he shows at the end of the film, the explanation for his devotion to Bridget falls somewhat short. Whereas the book gave ample room to develop their relationship, the screenplay rushes through their “courtship,” and his demeanor during their brief encounters don’t quite establish the basis for his adoration.
Director Sharon Maguire is a newcomer to feature films, yet she displays a keen ability to take what was truly the essence of the novel and make it come alive on screen. Side roles of Bridget’s quirky friends and eccentric parents fit in neatly and each scene, though most are sharp cuts, take the viewer through Bridget’s love life for the year.
Sweet without being sickening, and self-mocking without being cynical, “Bridget Jones” is true to its source, expertly cast and elicits frequent laughs throughout. Bridget may not be an archetype for modern singles, but her hilarious antics produce a genuine sense of empathy and understanding. Just as in the book, “Bridget Jones’s Diary” presents people you could recognize from your own life with a realistic sense of comic truth.
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