Bridget Jones’ Diary is a film I have a lot of personal affection for. As far as modern rom-coms goes it is pretty much as good as it gets, helped by a universally great cast. The sequel 3 years later I remember as being fine but it isn’t one I have revisited. The third installment in the series now follows 12 years after The Edge of Reason. Initially I thought it sounded like a bad idea but great early reviews raised my expectations and it turns out to be a very pleasant surprise.
Renee Zellweger returns as the singleton Bridget. Her love life is still a mess but she seems to be prospering in her career as a TV producer. Encouraged by her friend Miranda (Sarah Solemani) she meets and sleeps with Jack (Patrick Dempsey) at a music festival. About a week later, she attends the same christening as old flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and they spend the night together. Shortly afterwards, she finds out that she is pregnant, but who is the father….?
You can’t accuse this film of breaking new ground. With one notable exception, all the familiar faces from the two previous films appear and the use of pop songs is just the same as before. However, it provides as many laugh out loud moments as any film this year – only Hail Caesar runs it close. The particular highlights being Miranda’s disastrous interview with the foreign secretary, any scene featuring co-writer Emma Thompson, and particularly the long sequence from when Bridget goes into labour until the baby is born. Some good lines and excellent slapstick style humour make this a hugely pleasurable watch and Firth brings a lot of gravitas to his role.
A few jokes fall flat….”a gayby” and a strangely out of date gangnam style reference, but there are a lot more hits than misses.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10