This film would be quickly followed in 2004 by Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason which continues the story but veers wildly off into highly improbable territory and straight-up farce. Not So Great For: hairy-chested men, pushing boundaries, nice-but-dull guys December 11th: What Else Should I Watch? Great For: ladies of any age, rom-com fans, borderline alcoholic singletons, Zellweger's career Having said that, I'm not exactly the film's target demographic! But the film doesn't really seem to stretch itself and needed to be funnier, in my opinion. Zellweger is marvellous in the lead role and delivers an unlikely role model for women in the 21st century while the film has enough male eye-candy to satisfy most female (or gay) audiences. November 2nd: Should I Watch It?īridget Jones' Diary might not be the page-turner the novel was but it's a decent enough addition to a genre which often disappoints and bores. It's a delight to see Grant having fun playing a confident womaniser instead of the stuttering gent stereotype he's made his name with.
It's not very demanding of your attention and of course, you'll already know how it ends but if you're looking for something easily digestible then this will suit you fine. While there's nothing wrong with being a rom-com, it's a shame that the film is happy to just be a rom-com and nothing more. I was hoping for a scene reminiscent of Grant's lonely wander through the streets and market stalls in Notting Hill scored brilliantly by Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine but I was to be denied. The film does a decent enough job of romanticising London as a film location - much like Notting Hill did - but it doesn't have any imagination in its direction. He seems embarrassed to be on screen, as if the material is somehow beneath him and personally, I don't think he and Zellweger have much in the way of chemistry. But he feels like a pantomime villain compared to Firth, almost reprising his other Darcy role from the mid-Nineties BBC adaptation which turned him into a star. Grant has huge fun as Cleaver, the caddish womaniser who shatters the memory of Grant's stuttering English gents in films like Notting Hilland Four Weddings And A Funeral that he had made his reputation on. Costars Grant and Firth seem completely out of their depth in the film, possibly because their characters feel somewhat underwritten - this is Bridget's tale, after all.
According to Rushdie, he and Grant shot a scene where they kissed but this did not make the final cut.