Movie Review – Bridget Jones’s Baby

The first Bridget Jones movie came out in April of 2001. During this time neither Harry Potter, nor Lord of the Rings films had been released yet, popular television included Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson’s Creek, and the average cost of gasoline was only $1.46 per gallon. Times were different. Fast forward to 2004 when Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason was released. The ever lovable klutz Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) and her two love interests, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel (Hugh Grant) return in an international whirlwind when Bridget heads for Thailand. It should be noted that two of the most popular movies in 2004 were Anchorman and Napoleon Dynamite as referenced in this Buzzfeed article– update yourself on all the cultural norms of 2004 if it suits your fancy.

Regardless, three years passed between those two films, which is about the average amount of time for a sequel, which is why I believe most fans lost hope for the third novel to be loosely adapted after ten years had passed. Hope faded even further after Jennifer Lawrence put in her bid to play Bridget if they ever did a remake. This is Hollywood we are talking about… there’s always a remake in the works. Low and behold, 15 years after the first film premiered, we are finally getting an end to our favorite quirky Brit, but will Bridget Jones’s Baby live up to the greatness of the first film more than a decade later?

Short answer, heck yes it does! Bridget Jones is up to her usual shenanigans…you know, singing off key, falling down, and maintain her loveable dork status. She is once again in the company of two men vying for her attention. Mr. Mark Darcy is back and there’s a new man to replace Grant. An American billionaire (of course, does Bridget know any poor people?) Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey) throws in his bid as well after a one night stand with Bridget opens that possibility that he could be the father of her baby.

Which brings us to the next point….Bridget is pregnant! The question being, who is the father? Only Bridget Jones could be pregnant in her late 40’s, not know who the father is, and it be presented as charming as opposed to the flack she would get in real life. While there is certainly frustration from the two men as they both want to be the dad, it is the competitiveness between the two that is most amusing for the viewer. There was a scene where the men were trying to physically carry Bridget to the hospital at the very end of Bridget Jones’s Baby and the audience was laughing so hard that I could barely make out the jokes. I truly can’t wait to watch it again. Nothing fell flat because the chemistry was there, the jokes were fresh, and Renee was in her prime. This wasn’t a sad attempt at bringing back a long forgotten franchise; this was like reuniting with a friend and picking up right where you left off.

Things wrap up nicely, albeit a little predictable but you don’t see rom-coms in the hope to be shocked, so it worked out well. While Bridget Jones’s Baby certainly feels like the end, I am content as it left off on the highest of notes. Maybe we’ll check back in to Bridget’s world in another 15 years and see how she’s doing raising a teenager, I can only imagine what kind of an endearingly messy mom she would be.

Bridget Jones’s Baby arrives in theaters Friday, September 16.