A bittersweet and sentimental film

Rating: Null/10 (19 August 2001)

Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) Universal /Canal Plus
Two romantic movies viewed within the span of one week are quite hard to swallow. Yet, when they are two movies that seem to evoke laughter and a sense of belonging, it could be worse. The two movies in question are Someone Like You' and the newest addition to this catalogue of reviews, Bridget Jones' Diary'. It seems that as long as people will date, the Hollywood machine will churn out romantic movies. The only difference is, will they be smart, clever and intellectual films that make one re-think their whole romantic life? This previous question may be applied to the film, Bridget Jones' Diary', in which Renee Zellweger plays the titular character in a quite surprising way. Let us deconstruct together. First and foremost, I had my reservations about a Native Texan taking on the lead in which her character was a Brit. Second, is Zellweger ready to undergo such a strenuous Hollywood task in which she has to carry a bug film such as this entirely on her shoulders. The answers, in my opinion are YES. Jones' Diary' is a picturesque, clever little film about the trials and tribulations of a thirtysomethings misadventures due to her disastrous romantic life. Along for the delightful ride are Hugh Grant who puts a wicked, fun twist as her womanizing boss (all romantic films must have a womanizer to portray the villainous evil which is man), and Colin Firth plays a mysterious stranger who seems to magically appear where Renee Zellweger's character always seems to be. That said, Firth makes a stunning breakthrough as the stranger with a mysterious past. Simply in watching the film we have never been exposed to a character that we can sympathize with, then completely despise (Caution: These two emotions are listed in no particular order in which they appear in the film). Simply watch the film, and just observe his facial tics and mannerisms, he plays his character in a simple yet complicated way. He is absolutely oozing with mystery throughout the whole film as he gazes at Zellweger's character only to later on discover his true past. The movie develops at a medium pace describing Bridget's life as a total failure. And in retrospect, the film seems to be longer than its' 94 minute run. But the film encompasses the scope of her life in a comedic and sentimental manner. From her parents to her friends, Bridget sees her life as a complete failure. She is depressed; therefore she drinks, eats and cries her days away. That is until an incident in her life forces to feel confident and take control of her life. Forcing her to make rash, yet unprecedented romantic decisions that will change the course of her love life. The film is sold as a comedy and contains some great chemistry between all three main characters. Hugh Grant plays Daniel Cleaver who is a vivacious womanizer who happens to be Jones' boss, and Colin Firth plays Mark, a successful lawyer who happens to share a mysterious past with Grant's character. And suffice to say, Zellweger does a good job at capturing and conveying the character of Bridget Jones that was initially written in the novel in which the movie is based on. Director Sharon Maguire does not break any new ground in this film. She captures the many comedic scenes in a delightful and touching way and makes the audience experience some great laughs. The movie has the same flair as did Notting Hill', of course that can be because it is from the same producers, but is it as good? No. Instead, this film tries to create its' own look with the use of slapstick  keep your eye out for a great comedic fight sequence between Firth and Grant as they fight in the middle of the streets. Furthermore, the film creates its' own look with the incessant use of vulgarities  a lot of characters enjoy using the f*%# word.
The film itself is a great date movie because it will make the women happy. Upon exiting the film, I saw not one woman with a sad face. The movie delivers what it should, a great time at the movies and brings forth the notion for women that every girl can have a picturesque romantic relationship  no matter how bad the previous relationships were - witness Bridget Jones' previous relationships. Therefore, it is safe to say that this romantic film gets a perfect finale that simply is picturesque. So perfect that it is what I like to call a bow-tie ending'. This terminology implies that all the loose ends were taken care of and the girl gets her guy- whichever one it may be.

Giancarlo's Rating: **1/2 (out of four)