Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Bridget Jones's Diary is a surprisingly good movie. Detractors who deride it for its admittedly minimalist plot miss the point - this is a film that shows life without the layers of artificiality favoured by directors (resulting in movies somehow removed from the realm of the everyday in which us mere mortals dwell). Life is frequently aimless and trivial; and therein lies the movie's attraction. Notwithstanding of course that this is a very funny and highly original comedy.

Bridget (played with considerable aplomb by Renee Zellweger) belongs to the ranks of that modern phenomenon - the over-30, unmarried career woman. Just when it seems Bridget may be destined for terminal spinster-hood, two opposing forces enter her life - charming cad Daniel, and uptight (but very sexy) lawyer Mark. Which of the two is her Mr. Right? And why does everyone insist on asking that question detested by all singletons - "How's your love life going?" The movie's conclusion is predictable, and although any other ending would leave the audience feeling cheated, it does seem somewhat tame and ultimately unsatisfying.

The film encourages the viewer both to get involved with Bridget emotionally and to laugh at her at the same time. Perhaps the best joke is the milieu inhabited by her parents - where the mini-gherkin is the height of sophistication, and 60-year-olds throw garden parties with such alarming themes as 'tarts and vicars'. Bridget is certainly no social butterfly, and whilst we cringe at her public embarrassments (notably her TV report involving a fireman's pole and a bottom the size of Brazil), we triumph with her when she manages to turn a bad situation to her advantage. Maybe we can recognise a little bit of Bridget Jones in all of us.

Fmovies: Bridget Jones's Diary actually gave some laughs, and for that alone gives this film reccomendation, since so few romantic comedies now adays (outside of the classic Woody Allen flick) deliver laughs WITH corny plot twists.

Renee Zellwegger is as charming as she was in Jerry Maguire and Nurse Betty (though Nurse Betty has her best work) as a British woman who has some low self esteem about herself- she drinks, smokes, and eats too much, and has trouble staying away from bad boyfriends. In the movie, it focuses on her relationships with Colin Firfth, a honest British lawyer, and Hugh Grant who is a coniving yet charming scoundrel.

Some of the movie might be a tad too over-conventional for some tastes (at times it was for me), but the film delivers enough surprises and good feelings (lame for me to say that isn't it) that it should make for a good date movie that the guy might not hate with all his being. A-

Speaking as a singleton of a certain age, I found this move dead on. Although set in England, the theme and feelings of single people everywhere were universal. The plot line stayed pretty true to the book with a few exceptions but the tone stayed the same. I know when I went to see this with a female friend there were many men in the audience who looked like they had been dragged there but 5 minutes into the move they were laughing as hard (if not harder) than the women in the audience. This is definitely not just a "chick flick." Renee Zellweger was a perfect Bridget. When I first heard that she was going to play this role, I was skeptical but after I saw it(which I did twice, so far!) I couldn't imagine anyone else with such a mixture of cynicism and innocence. Bravo to the casting of Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as Cleaver and Darcy, respectively. If this movie doesn't win some Oscars it will be a crying shame.

Bridget Jones's Diary fmovies. With certain bad movies - "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a famous extreme example - you start to wonder if there's something wrong with people who don't realise that they're bad. I'm not saying that if someone LIKES "Plan 9" then his or her brain probably needs to be repaired; the suspicious, unhealthy thing is not LIKING the film, but being of the opinion that it's good. (Many people have a soft spot for it precisely BECAUSE they realise how bad it is. In this way it differs from something like "Timecode", where either liking the film OR having a high opinion of it is something to be embarrassed about.) And something similar applies to, say, "Citizen Kane". Disliking it makes sense; thinking it's a bad film does not.

But there's another kind of film that tempts me to be even more presumptuous. "Dumbo" is the best example I can think of at the moment. I can see why one might (mistakenly) have a low opinion of "Dumbo": some of the footage IS mere padding, the triumph at the end is too swift, the charge has been laid (falsely, but not ludicrously) that the crows are racist caricatures ... and so forth. But surely even the people who think "Dumbo" is a bad film must still manage to like it. If they don't, THEN I'm suspicious.

I feel this way, to a greater or lesser degree, about a number of light comedies, and this is one of them. I can't honestly say that I revere or adore "Bridget Jones's Diary" (N.B.: I'm male), but all the same, I can't help thinking that people who take an active dislike to it have something wrong with them. This applies not just to the film as a whole but to Bridget Jones, the central character, in particular. What has she done to merit dislike? She's beautiful (as beautiful as Renée Zellweger has ever been on screen), honest and kind-hearted. The diary she keeps certainly reveals her many flaws, but none is particularly pronounced, most are purely negative and anyway, she shares them all with the rest of us - so don't pretend you're not like this, too.

This is an amiable, well-written and fresh romantic comedy with, for ONCE, an attractive female protagonist. It's far from being the greatest film ever made and there may be grounds for attacking it which I haven't touched upon (I suppose there always are), and so all in all I'll understand your not thinking as much of it as I do, but, dammit, you'd better LIKE it.

Bridget Jones's Diary is full of lighthearted fun. The cast is wonderful - especially true for Colin Firth. His performance is magical. Being given such a thin material to work with, playing a `dreadful cold fish', he has artfully shown Mark Darcy's kindness and charm that gradually wins everyone's heart. This would be an impossible mission for actors other than Colin Firth. I enjoy every minute of his performance. In my opinion, they should give this nice boy more camera times - that's the only complain I have about this movie. Besides this complain, I have to congratulate the whole production team for successfully creating a movie of such weightless fun, and at the same time being honest and sincere to the human emotions. It is very hard to believe that this movie is Sharon Maguire's first one. I never read the book. So, you can trust my observation to be totally independent of the book. If you wish to have some fun and also like to dream a little bit, this is definitely the movie for you. BTW. If you enjoy watching drama and haven't seen Colin Firth's "Pride And Prejudice" (BBC), do yourself a favor and rent it. He is *really* a great "Character Actor" - one of the most talented alive.

What made this film work? What made this film break the usual British romantic conventional route? One actress! Her name is Renee Zellwegger, seriously, if the actress was British, this film would've been -'been there, done that'. Instead, this clever casting has made Bridget Jones a wonderful little picture.

Renee Zellwegger is an actress who changed to suit the screenplay, now that is ACTING! Her mannerisms, her weight, her enthusiasm and cutesy style are a wonder to behold.

Colin Firth does a great job, he plays his role well, a future James Bond perhaps? Hugh Grant finally gives us something different, he was actually quite funny at times.

Maguire as the director handles the proceedings extremely well, this is her debut and I think she will become quite successful with small films. The Super35 wide-screen frame is used well, bravo! The screenplay is lightweight, but written well, plenty of ad-lib and spontaneity transcend the script.

As a male, sit back and have a laugh. Quality!