O Diário de Bridget Jones

What made this film work? What made this film break the usual British romantic conventional route? One actress! Her name is Renee Zellwegger, seriously, if the actress was British, this film would've been -'been there, done that'. Instead, this clever casting has made Bridget Jones a wonderful little picture.

Renee Zellwegger is an actress who changed to suit the screenplay, now that is ACTING! Her mannerisms, her weight, her enthusiasm and cutesy style are a wonder to behold.

Colin Firth does a great job, he plays his role well, a future James Bond perhaps? Hugh Grant finally gives us something different, he was actually quite funny at times.

Maguire as the director handles the proceedings extremely well, this is her debut and I think she will become quite successful with small films. The Super35 wide-screen frame is used well, bravo! The screenplay is lightweight, but written well, plenty of ad-lib and spontaneity transcend the script.

As a male, sit back and have a laugh. Quality!

Bridget Jones's Diary actually gave some laughs, and for that alone gives this film reccomendation, since so few romantic comedies now adays (outside of the classic Woody Allen flick) deliver laughs WITH corny plot twists.

Renee Zellwegger is as charming as she was in Jerry Maguire and Nurse Betty (though Nurse Betty has her best work) as a British woman who has some low self esteem about herself- she drinks, smokes, and eats too much, and has trouble staying away from bad boyfriends. In the movie, it focuses on her relationships with Colin Firfth, a honest British lawyer, and Hugh Grant who is a coniving yet charming scoundrel.

Some of the movie might be a tad too over-conventional for some tastes (at times it was for me), but the film delivers enough surprises and good feelings (lame for me to say that isn't it) that it should make for a good date movie that the guy might not hate with all his being. A-

Bridget Jones's Diary is a somewhat amusing movie about an English woman who wants to change her life because she finds herself in her 30s and still single. I must say though that Renée Zellweger does a wonderful job and earns her Oscar nomination for portraying Bridget Jones. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant fit their roles well also. The script is pretty average for a film like this, I don't know why but I wasn't really struck with the writing like a lot of people were, although I did like hearing Bridget's narration throughout the movie. And there were also some pretty genuinely funny moments. Now with all that said, that still doesn't mean that this romantic comedy is the best of its kind, in my opinion it's not. There were just some scenes that I thought lagged on too long and other parts that were dull. I do think that there are better romantic comedies to choose from out there, but it is worth just one watch just to see Renée Zellweger, because she really shines, if only the rest of the movie would've kept up with her. 6/10.

Speaking as one familiar with "Pride and Prejudice"--the book and the 1995 miniseries upon which this work is loosely based--I like this spunky little movie exceedingly well, just as it is. Do not be put off by superficial comparisons to "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill," both shallow and pretentious movies memorable only for one fine eulogy and some physically beautiful protagonists. "Bridget Jones's Diary" is more.

Bridget Jones is, as its soundtrack suggests, "Everywoman." Every woman who has ever fumbled for words, fallen on her face, been embarrassed by her mother, chosen her underwear carefully, picked a cad for a boyfriend--whether she's a thirty-something singleton or a sixty-something grandma--can identify with Bridget on some level. You can't help pulling for her. Cheering her on is cheering yourself on.

But this chick-flick is not hardcore; it has a broad sense of humor. Male viewers have been caught in the act--smirking. There is even a fistfight to warm insensitive martial hearts. A couple of famous people make appearances here, too--one with a million-dollar price on his head--Salman Rushdie, who plays himself in a wryly irreverent little sequence.

It's easy to miss the movie's charm on the first screening--some very good lines are swallowed at the ends; the gratuitous profanity, casual sex, prodigious smoking and drinking are turn-offs; the heroine is an awkward, fleshy woman with reprehensible fashion taste, and one may easily posit that she ended up with an unsuitable and unlikely mate.

But I contend, after a second viewing, that this movie is a little gem. There is a wonderful economy in the editing; every scene, every action tends toward only one possible conclusion, a PERFECT conclusion. And the childhood clips in the ending credits give credence to that conclusion and provide support for it--which is that the hero and heroine are made for each other.

I rate it a solid 9 (with a 10 for the BBC/1995 "Pride and Prejudice").

* * * * S P O I L E R S A H E A D * * * *

At first glance, Miss Jones seems stupid and inept and the last woman in the world one would pick for the intelligent and successful Mr. Darcy. But consider this: Darcy already had "a clever wife" before--bliss must needs be sought elsewhere. Besides, Bridget, though somewhat gauche, is not unintelligent, as evidenced by her voiceovers and some of her sallies. But most of all this: Each has something the other needs--he is steady and reliable, she possesses liveliness and warmth. Notice the wistful look on Darcy's face as he watches Bridget and Cleaver cavorting on the river. He WANTS some nonsense and indecorum in his life--needs them; she would be his savior. Imagine Darcy's life if he had settled on the competent but priggish Natasha--both parties would have stagnated. Imagine if Bridget had surrendered to the charms of a Daniel Cleaver--fun for the nonce, but misery for the long haul.

No, this ending is perfect in every way, down to the last delightful epithet uttered by an aroused Darcy. And oh yes, the kiss--very promising indeed; at once tender and ardent, it leaves one with the distinct impression that Darcy will be something more than "helpful in the kitchen."

With certain bad movies - "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a famous extreme example - you start to wonder if there's something wrong with people who don't realise that they're bad. I'm not saying that if someone LIKES "Plan 9" then his or her brain probably needs to be repaired; the suspicious, unhealthy thing is not LIKING the film, but being of the opinion that it's good. (Many people have a soft spot for it precisely BECAUSE they realise how bad it is. In this way it differs from something like "Timecode", where either liking the film OR having a high opinion of it is something to be embarrassed about.) And something similar applies to, say, "Citizen Kane". Disliking it makes sense; thinking it's a bad film does not.

But there's another kind of film that tempts me to be even more presumptuous. "Dumbo" is the best example I can think of at the moment. I can see why one might (mistakenly) have a low opinion of "Dumbo": some of the footage IS mere padding, the triumph at the end is too swift, the charge has been laid (falsely, but not ludicrously) that the crows are racist caricatures ... and so forth. But surely even the people who think "Dumbo" is a bad film must still manage to like it. If they don't, THEN I'm suspicious.

I feel this way, to a greater or lesser degree, about a number of light comedies, and this is one of them. I can't honestly say that I revere or adore "Bridget Jones's Diary" (N.B.: I'm male), but all the same, I can't help thinking that people who take an active dislike to it have something wrong with them. This applies not just to the film as a whole but to Bridget Jones, the central character, in particular. What has she done to merit dislike? She's beautiful (as beautiful as Renée Zellweger has ever been on screen), honest and kind-hearted. The diary she keeps certainly reveals her many flaws, but none is particularly pronounced, most are purely negative and anyway, she shares them all with the rest of us - so don't pretend you're not like this, too.

This is an amiable, well-written and fresh romantic comedy with, for ONCE, an attractive female protagonist. It's far from being the greatest film ever made and there may be grounds for attacking it which I haven't touched upon (I suppose there always are), and so all in all I'll understand your not thinking as much of it as I do, but, dammit, you'd better LIKE it.