Trying on the evolution of Bridget Jones is like watching a suburb of an enormous metropolis change into gentrified or a really sluggish trainwreck taking place earlier than your eyes over a two-decade interval. Whereas each movie follows the shenanigans and sexcapades of a center to upper-class white lady in London, it does really feel just like the franchise turns into extra excluding of sure viewers because it goes on. The unique 2001 movie, based mostly on the novel by Helen Fielding, has change into a legend in each the comedy and rom-com subgenres, a crowd=pleaser whether or not you watched it too younger, later in life, or on the identical age because the titular character. One among (if not the) greatest fashionable variations of traditional literature, the unique Bridget Jones’s Diary represents one of the best of studio British comedy. The sequel, naturally, fell behind however nonetheless thrived on the chemistry and humor of its three leads. A decade later, Bridget Jones’s Child was the primary loss of life knell of this franchise, turning into a saccharine gimmick to get divorcées into cinemas.
If the final movie was a loss of life knell then Bridget Jones: Mad Concerning the Boy is the deadly injection itself. It’s devoid of all of the pure, irreverent humor of the early films, specializing in being idyllic fanfiction for middle-aged ladies who dream of their London townhouses of getting a fling with a toyboy. The ultimate nail within the coffin is, and it pains me to say this, an oddly infantilizing efficiency from Renée Zellweger, who reduces Bridget to a caricature of an excited baby who’s simply been given a lobotomy. There’s no hint of the character we fell in love with two years in the past, who makes jokes about Saddam Hussain’s arse, smokes excessively, and drinks an excessive amount of, however can maintain her personal towards those that deem her lesser. All that is to say {that a} as soon as iconic character has change into fodder for a really audience to go a night on the cinema (or, if you happen to’re within the U.S., at dwelling with a Peacock subscription).
What Is ‘Bridget Jones: Mad Concerning the Boy’ About?
Eight years after Bridget Jones confirmed that her child belonged to Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and so they received married, she is now a widow with an eight-year-old son, Billy, and a five-year-old daughter, Mabel. 4 years earlier, Mark was killed in an explosion whereas in Sudan for enterprise (fairly heavy however alright), and the film begins with Bridget being interrogated about her love and intercourse life at a cocktail party. In typical Bridget vogue, she feels her life is an utter mess (regardless of having an enormous dwelling in considered one of London’s most sought-after areas, and doesn’t should work, however I digress), and needs a recent begin in her life. She returns to work as a TV producer and begins a fling with the a lot youthful, disconcertingly good-looking Roxster (Leo Woodall). Nonetheless, Bridget additionally strikes up a reference to the authoritative new science trainer, Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), at her kids’s college. Juggling children, a brand new busy intercourse life, guaranteeing she and her children are correctly grieving the lack of Mark, and aiming to reclaim a few of her personal id in life, Bridget embarks on a midlife rediscovery of herself.
It initially got here as a shock to see that the film wasn’t getting a theatrical launch within the U.S., however once you see the completed product, it turns into fairly clear. Once more, the unique two films transcended age and placement to change into top-tier comedies and romance tales, primarily because of the terrific performances of Zellweger, Hugh Grant, and Colin Firth. However with Firth’s character now lifeless, his loss is each felt by his household and the viewers. It’s a welcome return for Hugh Grant because the sleazy however nonetheless charming (Grant’s entire shtick on the minute), and the change in his character from pursuing playboy to a real good friend and ally to Bridget and her kids is well one of the best side of the brand new film.
‘Mad Concerning the Boy’ Targets an Older Viewers
What attracts Mad Concerning the Again from its predecessors is that it’s so clearly solely aiming to please mother and father who will snicker together with the foolish shenanigans of the youngsters, the politics of the varsity mums, and getting again on the market after years off the market. This isn’t to say that all tales with a deal with parenthood are like this — Sharon Horgan’s Motherland is considered one of British TV’s greatest comedies lately, and among the main film comedies deal with household and parenting — Mrs. Doubtfire, Look Who’s Speaking, and much more children-friendly titles like Cheaper by the Dozen are rather more gratifying than what Mad Concerning the Boy has to supply.
The script’s jokes and gags are sickeningly sanitized and gimmicky, though none are fairly as commercially plastic as Ed Sheeran acting at Glastonbury. Briefly, the Bridget Jones cinematic universe has misplaced its edge — gone are the times of Hugh Grant gritting via a cigarette and exclaiming “Fuck, I really like Keats,” as an alternative making area for Bridget and her kids to bounce round of their pajamas and getting caught in a tree.
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The age hole romance between older ladies and outrageously scorching youthful males has change into one thing of a staple in current romantic cinema. When achieved proper, it’s an empowering portrayal of a relationship defying societal expectations of girls. Right here, Bridget’s dalliance with Roxster feels plucked out of a fanfiction on-line novel written by a housewife whereas her husband is away on enterprise (or combating in Iraq). Their relationship is framed by how jealous and impressed these round Bridget are of her potential to bag such “an adonis” quite than a significant relationship that proves to Bridget that she’s not previous her prime, as society tells ladies of a sure age.
Though Woodall is among the UK’s It boys of the second, the film has no real interest in increasing his character past his bodily attractiveness, leading to barely any chemistry between him and Zellweger. Bridget’s relationship with Mr. Wallacker is rather more rewarding, and it’s good to see a script give ample time to a rising friendship turned romance. It’s additionally proof that Chiwetel Ejiofor must star in additional rom-coms.
As foolish and overly whimsical as this film is, it additionally tries to power overly sentimental moments and place itself as a heartfelt mediation on grief. Similar to Bridget’s relationship with work and the brand new males in her life, there’s no room for nuance. This lack of nuance performs into each side of the script. The film throws large emotional moments at us, hoping they’ll stick, however they arrive after a definite lack of groundwork. Mad Concerning the Boy both operates as an idyllic fanfiction comedy or a pressured tear-jerker, not realizing the way to function in between.
Renée Zellweger’s Efficiency Is Troublesome to Purchase Into
Probably the most stunning disadvantage of Mad Concerning the Boy is Zellweger’s weird efficiency. She earned an Oscar nomination for her position within the first film (a uncommon feat for a serious studio rom-com) and likewise demonstrated among the finest British accents achieved by an American actor. To play a clutz who can’t assist however embarrass themselves is difficult to drag off with out showing such as you’re on a Nickelodeon present, however Zelwegger knew precisely the way to make Bridget equal elements cringy, loveable, and galvanizing.
In Mad Concerning the Boy, she’s doing a two-hour impression of Poor Issues’ Bella Baxter, strolling like she simply discovered the way to use her legs and sustaining a relentless expression of dumbfounded giddiness. It’s genuinely like watching a toddler stroll round in an grownup’s physique for the primary time, and also you’ll miss the times of her ass sliding down onto the digicam or shitalking the Tory get together to wealthy outdated males when all you get this time round is uncomfortable dance scenes and the lazy trope of messy hair to indicate how kooky she is. Nonetheless, she’s surrounded by a robust solid, with returning faces like Grant, Emma Thompson, Sally Phillips, and Sarah Solemani grounding Zelwegger’s schmaltzy efficiency.
Maybe being Gen Z and first watching Bridget Jones’s Diary once I was nonetheless in nappies, Mad Concerning the Boy isn’t a film made for me. Nonetheless, that alone is why it’s a stain on this franchise as a result of the unique films have been so expertly written and carried out that they might be loved by anyone. Mad Concerning the Boy is the disappointing finish to a franchise that ought to have by no means gone past its first sequel.
Bridget Jones: Mad Concerning the Boy premieres on Peacock within the U.S. on February 13.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy
A gimmicky and hole farewell to a franchise that deserves significantly better.
- Launch Date
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February 13, 2025
- Director
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Michael Morris
- Writers
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Helen Fielding
- Chiwetel Ejiofor and Hugh Grant each give charming performances.
- Renée Zellweger’s provides an oddly infantilizing efficiency.
- Bridget’s relationship with Roxster looks like fan fiction.
- The film’s overly foolish humor makes the emotional punches weak.