A sex goddess wannabe: stumbling through romance and laughing through her tears

Rating: 6/10 (20 November 2011)

Romance and humorously-derived self-humiliation mix somewhat uneasily in this glossy adaptation of Helen Fielding's book (by Fielding, Andrew Davies, and Richard Curtis). Bridget Jones, a British working girl with a mad crush on her boss, keeps crossing paths with a handsome lawyer whom she's known since childhood--a man who is naturally charmed by Bridget's downright clumsy attempts to socialize. Renée Zellweger (with added weight and an uncanny accent) is a perky heroine, a young lady prone to embarrassing herself in the midst of having a good time, who doesn't poke fun at her mistakes and bad choices (and who doesn't allow much guff from others, either); she's occasionally a flibbertigibbet but also a strong female character, one with drive and determination who goes after what she wants. The two men enamored of her (Hugh Grant and Colin Firth) work well with Zellweger, though the strained relationship between the guys is the worst type of movie contrivance (culminating in a fight scene that is also the very worst of its type). The movie doesn't scuttle its chances at being a funny love story...though there isn't enough of either element in the first half, and Bridget's initial job as a publicity executive is just a sketch (due to callow writing). Nevertheless, some big laughs and a wonderfully old-fashioned finale, plus fine work by the star-trio. Followed by a sequel in 2004. **1/2 from ****