Bridget Jones Baby

An okay romantic comedy that just doesn't have the charm of the initial movie. Dempsey offers a good performance, but Hugh Grant's shoes are haes to fill. Some good moments, some more clichés.

I am not sure what to make of Bridget Jones's Baby.

On the one hand, it has undeniably funny moments. On the other hand, many of the gags fall flat. This didn't stop many others in the theater from laughing their heads of, but it did leave me wondering what I was missing that made it so funny.

And considering that I'm almost in the right demographic for this film (almost, because I'm male), I found the characters very hard to relate to. I'd say both the characters and the portrayals are to blame. Zellweger does a good job, but that's easy. Colin Firth is the quintessential Mr.Darcy, but this is also the problem, because by now his Mark is boring to death. We know what Mark is like, and it would be great to see him do something, anything, besides being Mr.Darcy. But he never does. Patrick Dempsey's portrayal of Jack was simply lackluster. It was a role that someone like George Clooney would've probably nailed, but Dempsey was really struggling to look and act the part. At times he looked like he really really didn't want to be there. Sloppy script doesn't help either - at times I really struggled to understand why his character would be there at all. On the bright side, Emma Thompson is a standout - she manages the steal every scene she's in, and adds the wit and the sarcasm that BJB is so desperately lacking.

Finally, the movie is too long. The gags are overdrawn, punchlines are spoon-fed, and the story just drags on and on. Time and time again I almost found myself screaming at the screen "fine, I get it, move on!"

Anyway, 6/10 for the laughs. And please don't make another one.

Why did I watch this? I can't say I was ever a fan, I never read the books, but I have seen the original film many times. I re-watched it not long ago, and had to admit it had worn out for me, but that's probably my own fault. It's not meant to be seen every holiday season. Still, it has very good timing and it's bittersweet. Bridget Jones' Baby doesn't and isn't. It's dragging and it would make absolutely no sense to anyone not familiar with the first ones. The millennial characters are unfunny and implausible, the writing there is both patronizing and eager to please, like me following my friend's teenage son on Instagram and commenting YOLO. Pussy Riot and cats that look like Hitler... and the next minute jokes about human rights violations... So, I actually watched for the experience of a 40+ pregnant woman, of any glimpses of successfully acted emotions. And for Colin Firth, and possibly Emma Thompson, although I think I'd now like to forget she has screenplay credit in this. But still, what happened? Was everyone an amateur? It was like the characters from earlier films were all doing cameos. Renee Zellweger was playing herself playing her character 12 years later. No, she was standing in for herself in that role. Her voice was often barely audible, like she was really, really tired.

Renée Zellweger and a delightful cast, especially Emma Thompson, add some weight to the light simplistic plot of this movie. Dempsey and Firth contrast beautifully, and each has a different kind of chemistry with Zellweger. It's funny and engaging and the lead character, it feels current because they've allowed it to grow. But there isn't much that feels fresh in movie. The one exception is Emma Thompson. In spite of the mess, Zellweger remains winsome and charming as Bridget, enough so that one wishes the movie had done better by her. In short, Bridget Jones's Baby is not a great Bridget Jones movie, but it is a Bridget Jones movie, and maybe that's all people need.

'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. 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' was however a big step down, despite being adeptly played it lost a lot of what made 'Bridget Jones's' Diary so good.

Heard a lot of different opinions on 'Bridget Jones's' Baby. Some people said that it was a return to form and a huge improvement over 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'. Others said that it was worse and had no point to it. Having seen it myself, initially worried but really wanting to like it and judge it as mindless entertainment, to me it was an improvement but not by much. Not a return to form and nowhere near as good as 'Bridget Jones's Diary'. There are things that are done better here, but there are also the same mistakes and also a few different ones.

It has its good points certainly. 'Bridget Jones's Baby' looks good, being mostly attractive visually in a film that doesn't require epic sweeping cinematography or opulence while still being beautifully shot and with striking locations.

Again, like the previous two films, 'Bridget Jones's' Baby' is adeptly played. Renee Zellwegger, whose Bridget is nowhere near as much a parody or the butt of the joke like in 'Edge of Reason', overdoes it in the facial expressions (on a side note, and no shallowness intended, the Botox does not help), but really attempts and succeeds at bringing out the great qualities of her acting in the previous two films, trying to bring out the funny, adorably awkward and sympathetic sides of her character when the material allows it and her accent more than game.

Colin Firth is sophisticated, understated and charmingly stoic. Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent seem incapable of giving bad performances, though they did deserve more to do, while Sarah Solemani brings an enjoyable amount of sauciness. The casting highlight however is Emma Thompson, who is a hoot and is a breath of fresh air with the funniest material. On that note, there are more amusing moments here than there were in 'Edge of Reason', Thompson's material mostly but also the reason for Hugh Grant's absence and Ed Sheeran. The soundtrack is more appealing this time round with better choice of songs.

For all those good things, the story is even more contrived and predictable than 'Edge of Reason', and, apart from a few good moments, too much of the writing and gags are tired, recycled and even more stale, freshness was sorely lacking here. The romantic elements are lacking in heart and warmth and, despite a subject that so many people would relate to, 'Bridget Jones's Baby' does little with the subject and offers nothing illuminating.

Some of the subplots are strange and clumsily used, especially the one dealing with the punk rock, which didn't seem to fit. Patrick Dempsey is a comparatively fairly weak and mediocre at best substitute for the much missed Hugh Grant (who excelled so well at playing against type previously), having much less of his charm and charisma and instead coming off as both bland and annoying.

While the songs themselves are good, the placement for some isn't, with some misplaced randomness going on. Sharon Maguire's direction is more competent here but is still uninspired, while there is some amateurish editing and obvious, cheap use of green screen.

Overall, not awful but a disappointment and should have been so much better. Instead of laughing consistently, being touched or oohing and ahhing, found myself questioning 'Bridget Jones's Baby's' necessity and thinking "so what?". 5/10 Bethany Cox