Miramax
2001
Rated: R
Now on video and DVD
Bridget Jones (Zellweger) is a thirty-two year old British singleton who drinks, smokes and eats to excess. On New Years Day her mum attempts to set her up with Mark Darcy (Firth), a rigid, childhood friend in a ridiculous reindeer sweater. To Bridget’s mortification, the unappealing stuffed shirt snubs her. The incident becomes what Bridget calls a pivotal moment. After a wallow fest in which she warbles the self-pitying "All By Myself," (performed with hilarious over-dramatization by Zellweger) Bridget makes some self-improvement resolutions (shrinking her thighs) and starts a diary, in which she logs her daily truth--including her consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and calories. The book soon fills with stories of broken resolutions (staying away from her sexy boss, Daniel Cleaver (Grant)), humiliations (she always manages to say the wrong thing) and triumphs. Within the pages of Bridget Jones’s Diary she learns people (including her playboy publishing boss and the not-so-unappealing-after-all Darcy) will love her "just as she is."
Bridget Jones’s Diary is based on Helen Fielding’s immensely popular book of the same name. The script sticks close to the original storyline with a few welcome exceptions (see best moment below). A current day adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, BJD is a clever romantic comedy that does something few others do...it sticks to realism. Bridget’s not a pretty, perfect heroine who’s just had the misfortune of missing Mr. Right. She is an overweight, insecure, loveable woman who makes bad decisions and doesn’t give herself enough credit. She is you. She is me. She is every woman who ever tried to discover herself and find love.
When Texan Renée Zellweger was cast as the irrepressible singleton, the British population went up in arms. They felt the American interloper would never be believable as their beloved Bridget. Boy, were they wrong! Renée didn’t just act like Bridget, she became her. She moved to England, worked in a publishing house, practiced daily with a dialect coach and put on twenty-five pounds. Despite her dedication and hard work, if her talent were absent she would’ve been considered the weak link in this much-anticipated film. Fortunately, Renée has an abundance of talent. She brought to life the perfect imperfect heroine with great charm, vulnerability and wit. She shined as a woman who’s always been overlooked until she took a closer look at herself.
