Bridget Jones, You Queen

BRIDGET JONES, YOU QUEEN

I was debating whether or not to write this post, because all I could think to write was: this film is amazing. Go watch it now!!!!!!! Which would scarcely be a sentence, let alone enough to fill an entire post. So initially I did a Mean Girls-esque word vomit over Twitter and conveyed my emotions in 140 capitals instead. But it still wasn't enough. I know capital letters and sparkling love heart emojis can be quite persuasive sometimes, but is it guaranteed to make people hop off their seats, drive down to their local cinema and pay £6 upwards to watch the film you've just been splurging about all over social media? So to be on the safe side, I wanted to dedicate an entire blog post to splurging about this bloody incredible film, Bridget Jones's Baby, because aside from wanting to physically drag you to the cinema to watch it, Bridget is also my homegal 4 eva n always. So in many respects I feel like I owe it to her in some way, because there's no doubt that Bridget's very existence (yes I know she is fictional) has made me feel a lot better about making a right tit of myself over the last few years, as I'm sure she's done for countless other women too.

So what is the film about? Well the general premise is that 43 year old Bridget gets pregnant (waaay) and she's doesn't know who the father is (not so waaaay). A very Bridget Jones-esque scenario if ever there was one. Bridget (the absolutely superb Renee Zellweger) initially gets into her tricky predicament after getting dragged to a musical festival by her new friend Miranda, played by the quite frankly amazing Sarah Solemani. Unsurprisingly, Bridget doesn't dress very appropriately for the festival, and ends up falling head over heels in the mud. Also unsurprisingly, she falls right in front of gorgeous American millionaire Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey). After hoisting Bridget out of the mud, Jack and Bridget subsequently spend a romantic night together in a teepee, whilst Miranda is busy zorbing across the festival site with Ed Sheeran. All very well and good, until numerous awkward encounters with old flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) also lead to Bridget and Mark spending the night together too. With both flings being scarcely a week apart, and both featuring some biodegradable decade old condoms, it's not much of a surprise that Bridget gets pregnant, and that she isn't too sure who the father of her child is either. 

Now despite being a big Bridget Jones fan (I'm one of those people who's secretly well chuffed that ITV2 don't seem to broadcast anything else except the first two films back to back), I will admit that I thought Bridget Jones's Baby would be, well, shite. It had been 12 years since the last one. I thought that the whole concept of Bridget being pregnant was a bit of an iffy plotline. I was worried that it wouldn't even be a 1/5 as good as the first two films, and that it would ruin everything that made Bridget Jones so brilliant and iconic and timeless in the first place. I was worried they'd follow the plot of the third book, where Mr Darcy is no more. And most importantly of all, Daniel Cleaver, god forbid, wasn't going to be in the film. So it's safe to say my expectations were not that high. Bridget Jones is such an important icon for women of all ages. A fantastic, hilarious and endearing reminder that it's okay not to have everything together, and to also make a right tit of yourself in the process. And I know I personally didn't want that to be lost, especially because it's a well known fact that sequels never really live up to the original film, nor do they quite do it justice. Often a lot of the things that made the original so successful, get lost in the process. And whilst I could handle that with Pitch Perfect 2, I don't think I could bear it if the same happened to Bridget Jones.

So obviously you can imagine my immense pleasure when I found out that this was not the case. Last night, the film's opening night, my Mum and I went to the cinema to watch it. As you'd probably expect, the ratio of men to women was about 9:1, and the screening was packed. I always think the cinema-going experience is a million times better with a full house. And as soon as the first few minutes of the film began, the cries and cackles of laughter were already reverberating loudly and happily across the room. And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the film. Bridget Jones's Baby isn't one of those momentous cinematic legends, and it isn't going to change the world, but my god is it magnificent. If you want a film that is going to make you laugh from beginning to end, and make you very almost wet yourself numerous times, then this is the film for you. The plot line may not be too intricate, but it is a continual series of absolutely brilliant comedic moments that carry the film so effortlessly, and ultimately so movingly, from it's start right through to that long awaited ending. All the original cast members are back, including Jim Broadbent, Sally Phillips, Shirley Henderson, Celia Imrie, Gemma Jones and Erron Gordon, and there's a cracking performance from Emma Thompson too as Bridget's withering but kindly doctor. 

I adored the endless stream of effortless, classic British wit and humour. All that clever sarcasm, mild offensiveness, awkwardness, foolishness, boldness, craziness, and of course the abundance of swearing. And with her incredibly talented cast supporting her, Renee Zellweger dazzles yet again, putting in a real stellar performance that does absolute justice to her beloved Bridget. Meanwhile Helen Fielding's screenplay is so believable, honest and real. Although there are nods to the previous films and their memorable moments, Bridget Jones's Baby presents itself as a natural progression from where we last saw Bridget in The Edge of Reason. Watching this film, we believe that this is Bridget's life now. We believe that this is what she looks like now. We believe that she would have made these choices, met these people, done all these many things. All the best things about Bridget are retained, and it makes you realise that it was never the plot lines that drove these films to success, it was Bridget herself. Her awkward, beautiful, clumsy, kind-hearted, loveable, clever, foolish, well meaning self. And I'm so glad that they decided to make this final film, partly because I was only young when the first two films came out, and it's so nice to share in the magic and excitement of a new Bridget Jones film, but also because it rounds off the series so perfectly. 

Bridget Jones's Baby is a true testament and celebration of all the things that make Bridget Jones so great, and this film is an absolute delight to watch. Lighthearted. Moving. Hilarious. Clever. A truly magnificent film, and honestly one of the best I have seen in such a long time. So dear readers, what are you waiting for? Go grab your big pants, a glass of wine, get your Bridget Jones on and treat yourself to two hours of absolute cinematic brilliance.

http://www.bridgetjonesmovie.co.uk/