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Bridget Jones’s Baby
STARRING: Renée Zellweger, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent
DIRECTOR: Sharon Maguire
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: R
123 mins
When I heard that the quirky Bridget Jones was returning to the big screen I was over the moon. I first fell for the buxom blonde in 2001 in Bridget Jones’s Diary when she was a 30-something female looking for love in London whilst trying to better herself.
That movie wasn’t just a major hit in the cinema; it was THE rom-com to watch that was loved by countless women around the globe.
Her character was relatable. My university gal pals and I binge-watched Bridget’s many clumsy antics and silly shenanigans more than five times together and even more so apart. It was our ‘go-to feel good’ movie that reminded us that we were not alone. When she sang sadly in her pajamas to Eric Carmen’s All By Myself, we bawled and sang with her. We felt her pain because at some point in our lives … we did that too.
And, who better to play her than Renée Zellweger? The cute actress may have dazzled in the musical Chicago or made people swoon in Jerry Maguire, but she will forever be remembered as Jones.
Fifteen years later and Zellweger doesn’t disappoint in the third film to the franchise and sequel to the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
Bridget Jones’s Baby is directed by Sharon Maguire and written by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer and Emma Thompson, based on the fictional newspaper columns by Fielding in The Independent.
Unlike in the past two movies, Jones is more comfortable in her own skin. She is a 43-year-old British news producer that loves her job, her friends and her weight. However, now she is pursuing happiness rather than chasing love. But ladies, what happens when you stop looking? That’s when you tend to find it.
Feeling stuck between a group of mum-friends and party pals, Jones decides to get away from it all on a spa retreat with her news-anchor best friend (Sarah Solemani). Only her bestie takes her to a hippie music festival to let loose instead.
Jones meets Jack Qwant, a charming American dating-site millionaire played by Grey’s Anatomy’s McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey. As Jones puts it, ‘ding dong’!
After spending a passionate night with Qwant, she wakes up in a panic and splits with the aim of never seeing him again. A few days later, Jones reconnects with her long-time love interest, the quiet and standoffish lawyer, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).
Darcy, who is based on the character from Pride and Prejudice, continues to make Jones’ knees buckle and as usual she falls for her former flame. Although after spending an evening with Darcy, she quickly comes to her senses realising that if they couldn’t make their relationship work after 10 years then what would change now?
Happy-go-lucky Jones then continues living and loving life. She makes new declarations to yet again become a better version of her older self.
One of her life goals is to fit into her university skinny jeans and after working out for weeks she notices that she is simply getting bigger. That’s when Jones realises that she is pregnant.
Of course at first, Jones doesn’t tell either man the truth. They don’t even know about each other until a few months later when they surprise Jones at a work function and she finally comes clean.
That’s when Qwant and Firth are forced to get along until the baby is born before they can find out who is the daddy.
Meanwhile, Jones has to juggle a she-devil of a boss at the work place, a nauseating pregnancy, two men fighting over her and a mother that is running for an election and is ashamed of her. All Jones wants to do is be there for her baby and at one point goes it alone.
There is a rollercoaster of emotions in this film where you don’t know which guy to root for. However, all true Jones fans will always side with Darcy, no matter how much of a stick-in –the-mud he comes across being.
One of my favourite characters in the movie that must be mentioned is the obstetrician played by Emma Thompson. She is hilarious. When she referred to Jones as a ‘geriatric mother’ I nearly fell out of my seat!
All the characters gelled well together and fed off of each other’s chemistry. It was a joy to watch from the beginning to the end. It wasn’t surprising that the laugh-out-loud film also attracted a few fellas. Two guys sitting next to me in the cinema laughed so hard that I saw them wipe tears from their eyes and one even spilled his drink.
Although it was as predictable as every other romantic comedy, I still enjoyed it and left the cinema with the biggest grin on my face. I have a feeling though that we have not seen the end of Jones.
Dear diary ... I have a new favourite chick flick.
Showing in: Novo Cinemas, Cineco, Dana Cineplex
Rating: 4/5
