Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (2025)

Coming along after three movies of varying quality (the superb "Diary", the lacklustre "Edge Of Reason", and the enjoyable "Baby" adventure), Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy has been pitched as a welcome return of a beloved female character that all women are eager to catch up with. It's more than that though. This is the return of a British institution, an iconic British woman (albeit played by an American) who yearns for a dash of the kind of romance that often feels left in the past while striding bravely through every pitfall of the modern world. Each movie is, at the very least, a great mix of comedy and comfort, and there's a fantastic selection of British acting talent on display (many of them reprising their roles here, even if only for a brief moment).

Time has moved along, and life continues to deny Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger again, as if there could be a replacement for her at this stage) any kind of permanent happiness, or so it seems. She now has two children (Mabel, played by Mila Jankovic, and the older Billy Darcy, played by Casper Knopf), but her life has a Mark Darcy-shaped hole in it. There's still the occasional flirting from Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, once again at his caddish best), but things finally start to look up when Bridget tries out Tinder and meets a young man named Roxster (Leo Woodall). Meanwhile, the children aren't always doing well, especially Billy, and this leads to a number of uncomfortable encounters with a new teacher, Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

While the director of To Leslie doesn't really feel like a natural fit for this material, it turns out that making that assumption would just make an ass out of us and Michael Morris. Morris has the good sense to not get in the way of a talented cast all having fun with the screenplay co-written by Dan Mazer, Abi Morgan, and, of course, Helen Fielding, adapting her own novel. There's everything you want in terms of amusing embarrassments, satisfying swearing, and fine comedy moments, but Morris does a great job of balancing everything out with a more serious central strand exploring loss and how to keep moving forward when the destination ahead seems to have nothing there for you.

Zellweger continues to shine in the role that she'll be identified with for all time, and she seems natural and effortless onscreen in a way that seems to convey her own love for the character. Jankovic and Knodf are solid child actors, the former involved in more of the sequences that cause our heroine to get a red face, and everyone else onscreen, old or new, feels like a perfect addition to this (final?) chapter. Woodall is helped by the fact that he has scenes that show off the affect he has on others around him, especially in a sequence that has him arriving late to a party just in time to act the hero, Ejiofor is playing the typical hard-shelled individual with the soft centre, and both Firth and Grant continue to be delightful in their respective roles. Emma Thompson, Sally Phillips, James Callis, Shirley Henderson, Neil Pearson, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Joanna Scanlan, Celia Imrie, Nico Parker, Claire Skinner, Sarah Solemani, Josette Simon, and Leila Farzad are all wonderful, not one of them letting the side down, and I'm probably still forgetting one or two people I will later kick myself for not mentioning. It's a shame that Isla Fisher is only seen for mere seconds, and I suspect some of her work may have ended up on the cutting-room floor, but such an abundance of riches makes that much easier to accept.

I went into this hoping to enjoy it. I came out of the cinema knowing that it was easily my second favourite of the foursome. I can imagine many other people will feel the same. What could have felt lazy and by-the-numbers instead turns out to be as surprising, in terms of the themes being satisfactorily explored, as it is satisfying and eager to meet all expectations. The only downside is that I would now welcome another cinematic journey through a new Bridget diary, but I also know that this is just about the most perfect ending that we could all have wished for.

8/10

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Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason (2004)

I really disliked Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason when I first saw it. It spent too much time either being completely ridiculous (a plot point that sees Bridget jailed in Thailand) or just rehashing moments that were done better the first time around. Watching it now, I don't mind it too much. It still suffers from the same failings, especially the ridiculousness of that Thailand section, but the worst thing about it is really that it's just not the first film, despite trying hard to be.

At the start of the movie we see Bridget (Renee Zellweger) enjoying a happy life with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Unfortunately, that happiness doesn't look like it will last forever. Bridget is insecure, still as accident-prone as ever, and she once again ends up with the predatory Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) in her life. Can she make it through a difficult time, or will she give in to that inner voice of hers that is often spectacularly wrong in the viewpoint and advice it provides?

Directed by Beeban Kidron, this is a film that seems to struggle to find a proper identity. Much like the central character, it's not sure where it really fits in. In trying to both give audiences what they enjoyed so much the first time around while also adding some new adventures, it falters and stumbles from one set-piece to the next. The script, by Helen Fielding (who wrote the source material), Adam Brooks, Richard Curtis, and Andrew Davies, has too few moments of decent dialogue, instead relying on the familiarity and appeal of the main characters to carry things along.

The main plus point is that those main characters DO appeal. This remains the best role that Zellweger has had, perhaps simply due to it being the most fun and (for many) identifiable, and she slips back into the character like a favourite outfit. Firth does his strong-jawed noble act again, few do it better, and Grant is as amusing as he usually is, especially when in full on devilish mode. As well as the leads, most of the supporting players return (some getting more screentime than others) so it really feels like the whole gang is back together, which makes this an easy choice for comfort viewing. Jacinda Barrett and Joe Nicholls is the main new face, and they both provide some interesting twists. There's also a fun little turn from Jessica Hynes, no twists there but always good to see her onscreen.

The pop soundtrack, the fun escapades, the cast of well-to-do characters dealing with problems that help everyone forget the burning hellhole of the real world around us, there's nothing here to outright hate (unless you hated the first film). But there's nothing here to outright celebrate either. It's just there, bringing no advancement to the story or characters that we all enjoyed the first time around, and seeming to have no purpose other than selling repackaged boxsets featuring the first film alongside it. And yes, I bought the boxset.

6/10

You can buy the movies here.