Bridget Jones’s Baby

A return to form for the series, and a sequel that can hold its head up proudly beside the original.

Premise:  Eleven years after the events of the first film, a single Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) spends her 43rd birthday alone.  But this is a new, genuinely independent Bridget, successful at work, and confident in who she is.  However, after romantic hook-ups with handsome American stranger Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey) and ex-flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), Bridget finds herself pregnant with no idea which of them is the father.

Verdict:

Okay, first up, I need to put my cards on the table.  I thought the idea of making a third Bridget Jones film (15 years after Bridget Jones’s Diary and 11 years after the disappointing sequel) was a terrible idea, and when I heard the concept for the plot, I was even less enthusiastic.  Even now, reading the “Premise” paragraph above, it still sounds like it should be a bad film.

And yet … somehow it all works, and it works really well.  I think the main reason for this is that it doesn’t simply try to rehash the plot from the first film, which is the mistake that Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason made in 2004.  As much as I love Hugh Grant, the best creative decision made in Bridget Jones’s Baby (whatever the behind-the-scenes reason for it) was to drop his character of Daniel Cleaver.  Daniel was a great character in the first film, but one of the major problems (of which there were a few) with The Edge of Reason was that it shoehorned Daniel back into Bridget’s life (and affections) in circumstances where he had already been exposed as an arse, and it cheapened Bridget’s character to fall for his charms yet again.

“…she’s no longer looking for a man to give her life meaning…”

Bridget Jones’s Baby, on the other hand, puts the familiar characters into a new story rather than a re-tread of the original.  But more than that, the story feels fresh because there’s been such a passage of time.  The first film starts with Bridget spending her 32nd birthday alone, and the film was all about her quest to find a man amide the “30-somethings” dating scene.  And Bridget Jones’s Baby plays with that cliché, starting with Bridget spending her 43rd birthday alone, but this time instead of listening to “All by myself” and crying into her wine, she puts on House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and throws a one-woman party.  This instantly demonstrates just how much the character has grown in the intervening years – she’s no longer looking for a man to give her life meaning.

And that tone follows her character throughout the film.  Even when the film embarks on its (not entirely original) “who’s the daddy” storyline, it’s clear that Bridget wants to know who’s the father to do right by them, not because she can’t raise the baby herself if need be.  She’s very much a woman who’s comfortable in her own skin now, and she sums up the film’s freshness when she says “I can't go back and keep making the same mistakes when I can make new ones”.  This is precisely why Bridget Jones’s Baby is far superior to The Edge of Reason.

“…speaks volumes about Bridget being a good judge of character…”

It’s nice that so many of the cast from the original are back, including Bridget’s parents (Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones), her gaggle of friends (including Sally Phillips, James Callis and Shirley Henderson), and her somewhat inept TV producer boss (Neil Pearson).  Sarah Solemani also makes a real impression as a new character, a younger work colleague of Bridget’s and one of her closest friends (now that many of her 40-something friends are settling down with children of their own).

In terms of the new characters, the big one is obviously Patrick Dempsey as new love interest Jack, and what’s great about his character is that the writers haven’t gone down the usual clichéd route of revealing the new love rival to be a wrong ‘un at the end of the movie (much as Hugh Grant’s character was exposed at the end of the first film).  Jack is a legitimately nice guy who could genuinely be good for Bridget, and this not only adds an extra dimension to Bridget’s dilemma, but it also speaks volumes about Bridget being a good judge of character now (compared to having had the wool pulled over her eyes by Daniel previously).

“…recapturing the spirit that made the first film so enjoyable…”

And speaking of the writers, the decision to bring on (Oscar-winning writer) Emma Thompson to rewrite the original draft script appears to have paid dividends, as the screenplay crackles with energy and wit – plus we also get to enjoy Emma Thompson cameoing as Bridget’s exasperated obstetrician.  Completing the behind-the-scenes reunion is Sharon Maguire, director of the first film who returns to direct here, and who is also due her fair share of recognition for recapturing the spirit that made the first film so enjoyable.

So while it may not be perfect (the final act in particular becomes a little too slapstick in places), and while this may not appeal as much to viewers who either (a) haven’t seen the original, or (b) can’t relate to a romantic comedy involving 40-somethings, Bridget Jones’s Baby is a return to form, not just for the film series, but arguably for romantic comedies as a whole.  And while the film by no means relies solely on nostalgia and affection for its characters to get by, there’s no question that it is elevated by them.