Bridget Jones' Diary

B+

It's refreshing once in a while to find a romantic comedy that works. Such gems are not easy to come by, of course; for every When Harry Met Sally, we get ten (to give a very bad example) Hillary Duff movies. I first watched Bridget Jones' Diary four years ago. In my defense, I was a kid, and I was watching it on VCD on my PC, and the British accent was hard to catch, and I'm very sure my watching experience was interupted several times. At the time, I found it sappy and pretentious. I am of course proven wrong by myself.

Meet Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger), a thirty-something goof who is finding it hard to find a firm footing in romance. This time however, love seems to be in the air, and she has got two possible candidates. Bachelor #1 is Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), her boss at the publishing house she works in. Bachelor #1 is funny, sexy and affable in an oily way. Bachelor #2 is Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), a cold snob who, we are told, did the unforgivable by seducing Cleaver's ex-fiance. How the two men made her life topsy-turvy... We are fortunate that Bridget kept a diary that records all the hilarious, romantic and those lovely sillies.

This movie has it all. It's often very, very funny. It doesn't try to be funny, but it just is. It's genuine, and it's fresh. It's romantic, capturing and revealing all the ambiguities that romance often carries. Renee Zellweger is better here than she has ever been. Donning a flawless British accent, she glows and radiates Bridget's inner goofiness and her affable vulnerability. Bridget Jones is a real person, and she is this movie. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth share the movie, as they are seldom in the picture at the same time - that is until when we are served with a knock-out fist-fight to the theme of It's Raining Men. But they have their moments to shine.

Ah! I just remembered what this movie reminds me of. The wonderful Four Weddings and a Funeral. Although Bridget Jones' Diary is not as inspired, it is close. One fact might be that it is overlong and tended to be a little draggy. However, it is still a wonderful fare. I feel almost ashamed that I didn't realize this gem sooner, but then again, I'm glad that I only recognized it now. It is the one wonderful romantic comedy I watched in years.
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