Bridget Jones: Al borde de la razón

'Bridget Jones's Diary' was an immensely enjoyable film. It had a lot going for it, and succeeded on almost every level. It didn't cover much new ground and didn't break any conventions, but it was warm, charming, hugely funny and sometimes poignant, with a great cast.

When hearing that there was a sequel, there were mixed feelings. Admittedly, did question the point of it and was worried as to whether it would be as good considering the general reputation of sequels (though there are a lot of exceptions that are as good and nearly better). On the other hand, was more than willing to give 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' the benefit of the doubt, considering the same people were on board, cast and crew, who did such a great job in 'Bridget Jones's' Diary.

My feelings after 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' were that of real disappointment. It is not as terrible as many have said and there are far worse sequels around, at least it has things that salvage it from being worse, but what worked so well in 'Bridget Jones's' Diary' didn't here. Always try and judge sequels on their own terms and try not to compare, but it is hard not to when there is such a significant drop in quality, of which 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' is a big step down.

There are redeeming qualities. 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' is attractive visually in a film that doesn't require epic sweeping cinematography or opulence, but still manages to be beautifully shot, cohesively edited and have striking locations. There are a few amusing moments, but they are too far and between.

Regarding the cast, they do do well with what they are given, although their material is nowhere near as good they are hardly slumming it and do try to be true to how they were previously. Renee Zellwegger's performance is not as good here, but her accent is still game and she does try to bring out the funny, adorably awkward and sympathetic sides of her character when the material allows it. Hugh Grant still plays his caddish character with smarmy charm, while Colin Firth is understated and likable in a role tailor-made for him, practically as if it was written with him in mind.

However, Bridget is far too much of a parody and a butt of the joke here, making it, for all of Zellwegger's good efforts, difficult to feel sorry for or feel pity towards her. The jokes are too recycled and more of the same, with more contrivance and ridiculous silliness than fun or sparkle, and a lot of the script is very weak with lines this time round that makes one cringe. Whereas there was a perfect balance before of the extremely funny and the slightly tiresome this balance goes way too far in the latter.

Story is just as problematic, the situations are much more contrived and reek of predictability without any freshness or charm. It's more tedious than bright and breezy, and fails as a comedy, drama and romance. The comedy is too far and between and feels too much of before without any of the things that worked so well in 'Bridget Jones's' Diary'. The drama is too sentimentalised and lacks any poignancy and the romantic parts are severely lacking in warmth.

Despite it not being the case, being the same director as the previous film except then it was hard to believe it was a debut, you'd think that it was the opposite here because the direction actually felt inexperienced. The music doesn't work here, too randomly placed, the songs not as well chosen and inferior in quality and actually feeling annoying.

Overall, disappointing and a big step down but not without its redeeming merits. 4/10 Bethany Cox

But, oddly enough, I still liked this version of The Edge of Reason.

It's hard to put my finger on why -- because I'm not quite sure why some of the book's original plot lines were ommitted, and because I thought the Rebecca subplot was gratuitous -- but I did like it.

The first book was not-so-loosely based on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." The first movie left a lot of that in, and even included a lot of "inside jokes" for those of us who are familiar with that delightful book and the filmed version starring Colin Firth as Fitzwilliam Darcy. "The Edge of Reason" was not-so-loosely based on another Jane Austen novel, "Persuasion," but any overt Austen references are completely wiped out here.

The character of Giles Benwick is based on an Austen character named Benwick who has recently lost his fiancée, but that is the only Austen reference from the book left. It's a shame, too, because I liked that particular subplot in both Austen's "Persuasion" and Fielding's "Edge of Reason."

Given that I've complained about several aspects of this film, I'm still rather surprised that I liked it. Could it be because Bridget is still Everywoman and because Mark Darcy is still the Perfect Man (and probably because he's still played by the ever-dishy Colin Firth)?

Who knows. All I do know is that it was cute, it was funny and it was entertaining. You can't ask for much else.

Having seen the first version, I was looking forward to a good laugh. However this movie really failed to live up to it. Actually perhaps the movie cannot be blamed for it since the storyline itself is quite ridiculous, There was no reason for the Darcy- Bridget split in the first place. Nor the absurd antics with Hugh Grant (the prostitute was in pretty poor taste). The mid-life crisis which is so refreshing in the first movie sounds boring and repetitive.

Renee Zelwegger, looks haggard and unattractive. Also she seems to be overly neurotic - a trait that begins to grate on the nerves. Darcy is passable. Only Hugh Grant shines - he plays the role of the scoundrel with aplomb.

The only high point of the movie is the reprise of the Firth-Grant fisticuff. It is as ludicrous as the first - perhaps even better.

This movie is even more disappointing than the first one. It's not helping anyone by insulting a perfectly normal weighing woman, by continually saying she's fat. She says it and so does everyone else. Which doesn't help anyone's view of what an actual healthy weight is. I googled how much Bridget Jones supposedly weighs and 130 for the height of 5'5 is perfectly acceptable and within normal BMI ranges. This is just another Hollywood hot mess that promotes false realities. What's even more insulting is that any woman would allow themselves to be so self depreciating. No wonder many women have bad body image when Hollywood plainly says even though you weigh a perfectly acceptable weight within your BMI, you're still fat. What a way to create a bunch of effed up people and to continue to promote a completely unhealthy and unrealistic view of how the world should look.

BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON (2004) ** Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Jacinda Barrett, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent. Zellweger reprises her role as the titular neurotic British journalist in a fairly charmless sequel picking up from her hook-up with the divinely prim Mark Darcy (Firth) and making a shambles of their relationship. The film fails in making its heroine go through one shamelessly awful slapstick induced comedy of errors eliciting very little humor that isn't particularly mean-spirited or ham-fisted no thanks to director Beeban Kidron who seems to relish in demeaning the bachelorette to no end.

And can we PLEASE have a moratorium on using Barry White's 'You're My First, My Last, My Everything' to underscore a character's actions!