A great romance movie, but the very best of the romantic comedy genre.

Rating: Null/10 (21 November 2004)

There is something enjoyable but tiresome about watching a bunch of 30 something depress woman trying to find a man before their biological clock expired (though none of them seem to want any kids... so what's the rush). At first glance, Bridget Jones follow the formula of Ally McBeal and Sex and the City. These women want to be in a deep and committed relationship, though they do not to be "trapped" in a committed relationship (because... woman rights. Haven't you heard?). Calling it a hard task is an understatement.
So, I was expecting something I have seen before in TV shows/sitcom that is now being put in movie form. I rented the DVD along with a bunch others, and on the day I have to return them, I force myself to watch it in a "now or never let just get it over with" situation. I worked late the night before, came home at 12 and sleep at 3 in the morning. I woke up at 8 to use the bathroom and I realized that I want to return the DVDs early, so I have start watching it with my eyes half open. 10 minutes in and I couldn't stop smiling. This movie is just so cheerful and funny. This is what movie is supposed to be, entertainment. And it is extremely entertaining. Now, I own it on DVD and saw it twice.
Romantic Comedy genre is weak in my opinion. I think the best romance in film bury within other type of genre that is not comedy. Movie like You Got Mail, Truth About Cats and Dogs, Addicted to Love, etc. They all are just something to watch when you are bored, and has no classic feeling to it; even a gigantic Oscar hit like As Good As It Gets, which I loved. Best romance I see comes from Drama like Casablanca, Adventure like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Epic like Far and Away, or *sigh, Titanic. Now, after watching all those, I can safely say that Bridget Jones beat them all (well, except Casablanca for the obvious reason, it being the best movie of all time and all). Here's Why:
So many people have all ready mention how flawless Renee's (girl from Texas) British accent is, so I'm not going to bother, and go right to the meat. Bridget Jones is a lot like Ally McBeal in term of character design. She wear short skirts, flirt with men at her work place, and have eating disorder. Ally McBeal, however, failed where she tried too little, just whining and sleeping with strangers until none of us has the energy to cheer for her (and she didn't find true love in the end). Jone is much more mature like characters from Sex and the City. The only thing that she didn't have are money, which in my opinion, let us relate to her better.
I take love very seriously, and most of my friends, myself included, are all being sadistically torture by it. What I love about Bridget Jones is that even though we realize she is desperate and obviously have low self-esteem, she still won't settle for less. Usually a girl who is overweight (or at least think she is overweight.. I think she looks cute and sexy in the movie with her weight gain, a dude's opinion) and doesn't have a steady boyfriend until they turn thirty (where the movie began) are those who might willing to settle for a lesser man. But when one of the men in the movie become rude to her or disrespectful to her, she knows what to do. She never go cry to anyone with her relationship problem. She worked at it on her own, may be asking advice from friends on what to say here and there, but never whine about it. There's no "why don't you just...", she did everything a smart and intelligent woman would do. Not bad for a girl who thinks El Nino is a latin band. Is there a latin band called El Nino?
I was reading some of the review by men about how Bridget Jones' Dairy ruin a generation of young girls by saying that it's okay to be fat, sloppy, clumsy, idiot, and still think there is a chance of finding a good man. First of all, that male person is probably a closet case because straight men like women with curve. Second, those kind of people and their way of thinking is why this movie is so important. No matter how hard we try, none of us can be perfect. Life is a battle. You fight for money, you fight for survival. Fighting to look good and pro-create is just one of the things some people don't really need. The reason we want to find our significant other is to ease the heaviness of the fighting. To make coming home from work late at night only to get up early the next day to pay for the house you barely spend any time in, more bearable. We understand that about Bridget, and relate to her. And when a man comes in to tell her he likes her Just The Way She Is, call it unrealistic, call it cheer dumb luck or whatever. But if that scene is too impossible to happen and too much to ask for from the real world, then more of this kind of movie need to exist. A lot more.
There are some things about the movie that I don't like, but to be fair, taking them away would make it a whole lot less cute. For one thing, Bridget couldn't find any messages on her answering machine. Awww.. she's lonely. But wait, didn't she have 3 friends who always supported her? Plus, again, she looks gorgeous. It's hard to feel sorry for you when 2 men were willing to fight for you. But those are minor setback to a overall story that is simply perfect.
If anything, this is truly a movie every young girl (and guy too) must watch. Unless.. you know, you are too young for all the swearing. Speaking of which, this movie, unfortunately, is another classic that got slap with R rating for absolutely no good reason like Almost Famous. I can blame it on the Rating board, but why would the movie put those kind of language or drug content (Almost Famous, there's no drug in Bridget Jones) on there when it doesn't even have anything to do with the story and may even help them reach much larger group of audience?
Oh Well. 10/10