Godmothered (2020)

Crashing through from the fairytale world to the harsher realities of our own world is a seam that has been mined by Disney before, most notably with the very enjoyable Enchanted. And if you liked that movie then you should like this one. It's very similar.

Jillian Bell plays Eleanor, a fairy godmother in her training years. Unfortunately, by the time/if she ever qualifies, it may all be too late. People don't seem to need fairy godmothers any more. Nobody is getting their "happy ever after". Eleanor decides to change things by making things right for a young girl named Mackenzie, after finding her letter in the archives. That letter, however, was written some time ago, and Mackenzie (Isla Fisher) is now a stressed-out single mother, working for a news station that seems determined to gain ratings by focusing on negative stories and fear-mongering. Mackenzie seems to have accepted that she's not going to have a "happy ever after", but she may also be holding back her daughters, Mia (Willa Skye) and Jane (Jillian Shea Spaeder).

Your enjoyment of Godmothered will depend on a number of factors, not least of which is how much you warm to Jillian Bell in her main role. I tend to find Bell very hit and miss, depending on how irritating her character is supposed to be (and she tends to be given irritating characters in many of her films), but she's a lot of fun as the trainee with more enthusiasm than natural talent, doing her best to get results without the full skillset that some others have. You also have to accept the predictability of it all, the weak mix of characters, and the sweetness of the big main lesson. Having said that, you usually have to accept those things with most Disney movies, so it's no major inconvenience if you know the kind of film you're about to watch.

Although the script by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack doesn't take any chances, director Sharon Maguire keeps everything moving along nicely enough, and staves off boredom with some smaller-scale set-pieces (be it Mackenzie being inconvenienced by a huge ballgown that has magically appeared on her or a race-against-the-clock finale that relies on Eleanor finally perfecting one or two of the traditional spells).

Bell and Fisher have fun together, Spaeder and Skye are just fine, Santiago Cabrera is a prospective "prince", literally named Hugh Prince, and Utkarsh Ambudkar provides some laughs as the boss who thinks bad news = ratings. June Squibb is a delight as Agnes, the fairy godmother who narrates the tale, and Jane Curtin is the strict head of the fairy godmothers who ends up racing to stop Eleanor making what she assumes will be a big mess of things.

Light and enjoyable from start to finish, the biggest thing going against Godmothered is that, while it wanders through some very similar terrain, it isn't Enchanted. That's no reason to criticise this movie too harshly though. One Disney movie being very similar to another Disney movie is hardly anything new. It's often part of the appeal.

6/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

Here we go again. With no disrespect intended to anyone involved, Bridget Jones's Baby is a sequel that feels like you have to see it out of a sense of obligation, as opposed to it being something you were really waiting on for years. It's much like the second film, which was a pale imitation of the first film, and that is both a positive and negative.

In case you couldn't tell from the vague title, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger again, of course) finds herself pregnant. It usually takes two to tango but Bridget, as different as ever, has decided to complicate matters. The baby may have been fathered by Mark (Colin Firth again) OR a handsome American chap named Jack (Patrick Dempsey). Deciding not to tell either man about her lack of certainty, Bridget goes through her pregnancy while trying to keep her secret. Thankfully, she has a very accommodating doctor (Emma Thompson) willing to help her. But the truth will need to come out eventually. I know what viewers will be hoping to see happen by the time the end credits roll, but is that the kind of happy ending that Bridget can get?

Look, I've reviewed the first and second movie already, so the easiest thing to do here would be to copy bits from those reviews and place them here. The main characters of Bridget and Mark are essentially the same, just a bit older, and the comedy generally works, even during the times when it seems that Bridget is about to crumble under the weight of her situation.

Director Sharon Maguire, who helmed the first film, returns, and she has a better feel for the tone and characters than Beeban Kidron seemed to in the previous outing. It helps that she's working from a better script too, this time Helen Fielding and Dan Mazer are joined in the writing department by Thompson (which MAY help to explain why she almost steals the show with her few scenes but, then again, Thompson is just always that good). There aren't too many moments that are outright hilarious but there are plenty of little chuckles supplied in between the few bigger laughs.

Zellweger and Firth know their characters very well, and have always felt like perfect casting in those roles, so they slip back into things with ease. Dempsey is a great addition, considerate and caring and seemingly perfect in a way that very much irritates Firth's character, and I just mentioned Thompson almost stealing the show. The rest of the cast crop up for moments that show their characters are still around, Hugh Grant aside, so you once again get to see Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Sally Phillips, Shirley Henderson, James Callis, Jessica Hynes, Neil Pearson, Joanna Scanlan, and a few other familiar faces.

Still not as good as the first movie, this is a slight step up from the second film and at least provides a better ending to the Bridget Jones saga, as far as I'm concerned. I hope they can now leave these characters were they are. But I know I'll end up watching the next movie if they decide to make another one.

7/10

You can buy the boxset here.
Americans can buy it here.

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

A top-tier entry in the selection of British rom-coms from the past few decades, Bridget Jones's Diary is the film that made everyone fall in love with Renée Zellweger, reminded everyone of their love for Colin Firth, and once again showed off the comedy chops of Hugh Grant.

The fairly light plot involves Bridget, a young woman who is keen to change her life for the better. She wants to lose some weight, quit smoking, and land a good boyfriend. Unfortunately, she has a habit of not helping herself in these matters, sometimes accidentally and sometimes not. She is unimpressed when she meets Mark Darcy (Firth) at a Christmas party, despite the fact that he is, well, Colin Firth, and eventually ends up having some fun with her work colleague, and charming rogue, Daniel Cleaver (Grant). Things may seem like they're going her way but there are some obstacles on the way to true happiness, or at least a satisfyingly happy ending to this movie.

Directed by Sharon Maguire, Bridget Jones's Diary holds up as well nowadays as it did when first released back at the turn of the 21st century. Critics could argue that it's a horrible fantasy, pandering to international audiences with scenes of snow-covered and picturesque pockets of England, upper-class Brits going through their angst while not having any real cause for worry (certainly compared to many others), and a problematic female icon who seems to look in all the wrong places for solutions to her problems. Fans might refute those accusations by saying that those aspects make the movie as enjoyable as it is. It IS a fantasy, it IS people dealing with problems unlike the standard problems that many of us have (although I am sure that we've all had our moments of unrequited love and/or loneliness), and the central character being problematic is better than watching yet another flawless starlet pretending that her life is unravelling around her while she continues to do everything right until the world around her finally delivers the good karma that everyone knows she will be due.

The script, written by Helen Fielding (who also wrote the popular source novel, of course), Andrew Davies, and Richard Curtis, is full of classic rom-com moments and some wonderful dialogue, whether it's Bridget narrating her diary entries or awkward exchanges between her and Mr Darcy. You could do a lot worse if you ever wanted to dissect a script that brilliantly sketches a number of main characters while delivering quality laughs in most scenes. Things rattle along perfectly, and you get a selection of pretty good pop hits on the soundtrack helping everything along.

Despite a career that has seen her give a number of great performances, Zellweger may never escape from her role of Bridget (a role she has now played in three movies). She's brilliant in the role, authentic and appealing, helped by the fact that she manages to also put on a very good English accent. Firth does his stoic act with aplomb, making it all the more amusing when he has an angry outburst that leads to a hugely entertaining fight scene, and Grant is probably as hilarious as he's ever been (and he has made me laugh a lot in so many of his roles). Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent are both excellent as Bridget's parents, Shirley Henderson, Sally Phillips, and James Callis are all fun as Bridget's main three friends, and there are wonderful turns from Neil Pearson, Felicity Montagu, Paul Brooke, Celia Imrie, and many others.

If you enjoy great comedies then you'll like this. It's a near-perfect rom-com, and a reliable favourite to have to hand for those evenings when you want to watch something that will keep you grinning from ear to ear throughout, even if you started watching it while in a low mood, wearing your pyjamas, and determined to eat your way through an entire tub of ice cream.

9/10

Buy the set here.
Americans can get the same set here.