Four Reasons to See this Movie - None of Them Important

Rating: 6/10 (21 February 2005)

I can't remember watching a film after which I felt less interest in the fate of ANY of the characters. The story is told without any feeling or energy whatsoever, with the sole exception of the Hugh Grant role (Daniel), and even he is far below his usual standard. Colin Firth is so wooden he has caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of the acting talent of Keanu Reeves. The film is nominally a romantic comedy, but the degree of apparent romantic attraction between Bridget and Mark (Firth) can only be described as microscopic even at the end of the film, when they've managed to get together. It's also hard to see what Daniel (Grant's 'Mr. Wrong') sees in Bridget, who is consistently presented unattractively, with respect to clothing, behavior, physical attributes, and personality. Perhaps it's that the two of them are equally shallow. As for comedy, the film (ie. the director) time after time walks away from potential significant comic scenes with a whimper, not a bang. This, after taking some pains to set those scenes up. Cases in point: the fire station interview, and the tarts and vicars party. In both of these cases we are apparently supposed to take the semi-exposure of Bridget's ample backside as sufficient comic payoff for the setup. This is more like British TV humor of the Benny Hill genre than what I expect to see as humor in a major motion picture. Given all of the above, and in all fairness, there are indeed four reasons to see this film: (1) Bridget's speech at the book launch, which is actually quite funny, (2) the fight between Daniel and Mark with their apologetic asides to the restaurant patrons as they trash the place, (3) Zellweger's British accent, which I wouldn't have thought possible, and (4) Daniel's stunning book-lined apartment, which appears, unfortunately, only briefly. None of these, of course, are important.