Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures.
‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
Premiering on Peacock on February 13th, ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ marks the fourth outing for the ever-hopeful Bridget, brought to screens as always by Renée Zellweger.
And thankfully, despite the worrying sign of it being sent directly to a streaming service here (it’s in theaters internationally), this is a superior entry in the franchise spawned from Helen Fielding’s columns, eventual books and first on our screens way back in 2001.
Related Article: Renée Zellweger Returning as Bridget Jones for ‘Mad About the Boy’
Should you make a date with ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’?
(L to R) Mila Jankovic as Mabel Darcy, Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, and Casper Knopf as Billy Darcy in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Alex Bailey/Universal Pictures.
In the years since that original movie, there has been a healthy evolution for Bridget, and even more hearteningly, some of the people around her. This new offering might not start out as suitable for those who love their happy endings, as the shadow of grief hangs over Bridget, still mourning the loss of her perfect man, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and dealing with life as a single mother.
Yet it’s all a spur for a new chapter in her life, as she decides to leave the mournful doldrums and get on with, well, living. Around her, plenty of other characters have similarly come to realizations about their lives, even the irrepressible cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) –– though he still has a twinkle in his eye.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones and Leo Woodall as Roxster in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Alex Bailey/Universal Pictures.
With a script from Bridget’s creator Fielding alongside British TV scriptwriting stalwarts Helen Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan, ‘Mad About the Boy’ manages to pull off the trick of both maintaining what we love about Bridget –– smart yet clumsy, hopeful yet soulful, silly and serious all at once –– while also growing the storyline around her.
As a widower dangerously careening towards her fifties and trying to be the best mother she can be, it’s a proper new gear for both the character and Zellweger, and the movie makes the most of that.
Yet the screenplay also doesn’t forget what makes these films so much fun, with moments for Bridget’s friends and colleagues that offering sterling support and plenty of laughs. Her main love interest is perhaps a little bland, but that’s no real issue as he’s mostly just a waypoint for the person you can tell she’s likely to end up with from the moment we meet them.
Director Michael Morris, whose resume includes movies such as ‘To Leslie,’ has really earned his stripes on the small screen, handling episodes of shows including ‘Better Call Saul’ and ‘For All Mankind.’ And that experience proves invaluable, as he’s able to juggle multiple characters and the film looks cinematic, if relatively simple.
It’s all in service of the story, though, and helped by some truly beautiful London locations.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver and Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Since bursting onto our screens all those years ago Renée Zellweger and her near-flawless British accent (never generic, always specific) as Bridget has weathered the highs (the original) and lows (the second and to some degree, third movies).
Here, she’s given a take on the character she can really work with, and puts in a touching, charismatic performance, easily making Miss Jones –– or Mrs. Darcy as she is these days –– someone you both want to spend time with and root for.
(L to R) Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures.
Around her, Bridget’s friends and family remain excellent, whether indulging her latest concerns or trying to offer advice. They might only pop up in support, but they all feel like rounded humans at this point.
And special mention must be made of Hugh Grant. Having famously skipped the third film because he didn’t like the script, he only agreed to return for this one if he got to change some of Daniel Cleaver’s scenes. Whatever he and the writing team worked out, it was all for the good, as the cheeky Daniel of old shines through while also coming across as being more self-aware of his own ridiculousness. His chemistry with Zellweger also remains on point.
Less natural is Leo Woodall, who is fine as “Roxter,” the new younger man who enters Bridget’s life when she’s stuck up a tree. Woodall does what he can with the role, and he has some charm, but he’s more plot point that character.
(L to R) Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mr. Walliker and Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment / Universal Pictures.
The same fate might have befallen Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mr. Wallaker, a teacher at Bridget’s kids’ school. But in the experienced actor’s calm hands, he’s both funny and relatable, and when the inevitable arrives you can see why she might fall for him.
One person who comes off less well, if only by dint of her popping up in exactly one brief scene, Isla Fisher as a neighbor and stressed mother who we meet for seconds, threatening to dispatch her unruly kids off to “the squid games.” Was she in more of the movie, but saw her scenes sliced out in editing? We may never know for sure, but she still makes an impact in her one moment.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Sally Phillips as Shazzer, James Callis as Tom, Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, and Shirley Henderson as Jude in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures.
Like the character herself, the ‘Bridget Jones’ film series needed a bit of luck, and ‘Mad About the Boy’ brings it. It’s a deeper, richer, and more satisfying film than the other sequels and if this represents the last time we hang out with the character and her various associates, then it’s a fitting finale.
As Bridget might write in her diary: V Good.
What’s the story of ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’?
In her latest film, Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is alone once again, widowed four years ago, when Mark (Colin Firth) was killed on a humanitarian mission in the Sudan. She’s now a single mother to their kids, and is stuck in a state of emotional limbo, raising her children with help from her loyal friends and even her former lover, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant).
Pressured by her Urban Family — Shazzer, Jude and Tom, her work colleague Miranda, her mother, and her gynecologist Dr. Rawlings (Emma Thompson) — to forge a new path toward life and love, Bridget goes back to work and even tries out the dating apps, where she’s soon pursued by a dreamy and enthusiastic younger man (Leo Woodall).
Now juggling work, home and romance, Bridget grapples with the judgment of the perfect mums at school, worries about son Billy as he struggles with the absence of his father, and engages in a series of awkward interactions with her son’s rational-to-a-fault science teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
Who also stars in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’?
Emma Thompson as Dr. Rawlings in ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’. Photo: Jay Maidment/Universal Pictures.
Movies in the ‘Bridget Jones’ Franchise:
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