A year in the life of Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) as told through her diary where she keeps tabs on her weight, number of cigarettes smoked and alcohol consumed as she seeks a boyfriend whilst trying to have a successful career. 

At thirty-two years old Bridget is worried about being a spinster for the rest of her life whilst battling with all of the other demands of being a woman in modern life. Her parents (Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent) are going through marital strife, she definitely hates the barrister they tried to set her up with (Colin Firth playing another Mr. Darcy) and she fancies her caddish boss Daniel (Hugh Grant). Add in her best friends Jude, Shazza and Tom (Shirley Henderson, Sally Phillips and James Callis) and you have the perfect recipe for cringeworthy mistakes and awkward social interactions that sold millions of books and made hundreds of millions at the Box Office. 

Based on the 1996 novel by Helen Fielding which itself was loosely based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (hence Mr. Darcy) its main focus is on women’s self perception with all of the pressures society places on them. 

Returning to Bridget Jones after twenty-four years has been an interesting experience. Having seen all of the films on their cinema release I decided that the fourth film released this year would require a refresh to do it justice. My recollection of watching the film aged twenty were positive enough that I would go on to read the source material but I had never previously rewatched the film. Watching it again now I can admire the humour but struggle with the idea that Bridget is such an iconic character. But heck, what do I know? I am not exactly the target audience in terms of lived experience here. One thing for sure though, is that the very idea that they made me think that Zellweger/Jones was overweight in this film is crazy! 

Zellweger is fantastic as Jones and picked up her first Oscar nomination for this role. Even if there is far too much reliance on her plummy English intonation of the phrase “oh my God”! Grant is also wonderful as the sexy but unreliable love interest who absolutely represents fun but not longevity. Firth on the other hand is remarkably dull as Mark Darcy who Bridget is given very little reason to fall in love with other than his reliability. 

At just 97 minutes Bridget Jones’s Diary is a fairly funny and breezy romantic comedy but it’s still not something that sticks in my mind.