A guy's opinion

Rating: 5/10 (29 May 2002)

On first hearing about this film, dread filled my soul like a fart in an elevator. And as its simile counterpart, news of the event spread fast, catching up with my girlfriend like a fat sprinter in a cherry pie dash. As the lightning crashed and the thunder rolled, words that Mankind had feared since ages past found form on my girlfriend's lips: "Hey Mark, let's go and see Bridget Jone's Diary"...
Now don't get me wrong, ladies, I do like many films that are considered 'Chick Flicks', one of my all time favourites being 'Muriel's Wedding' or 'The Truth about Cats and Dogs'. The apprehension that clung to the bosom of my weariness lay more in the lack of any depth to the character/s. Bridget Jones is naive and abit thick - you'd think that any woman who was now about mid 30s could at least have a decent stab (no pun intended) at guessing if some guy (i.e. High Grant's Character) is a muppet. Although I can let that slide on the evidence so many friends have given me on how enigmatic most guys are (and how most of us are bastards, haha).
Some of the jokes will most likely need explaining to quite a few guys. One example is why a chorus of laughter followed her getting drunk and singing bad love songs alone. Another example is when she's sliding down a pole, smacks her arse into the camera and generates crowds of girly laughter as if the audience had been contracted to provide tinned laughter for some slap-stick home video show.
One issue however was with the tedious-neuroticism of Bridget Jones and her celebrating the latest fashions of excess with her incessant drinking and smoking. As I say I don't hate romantic comedies, it's just that this one seemed proud to have no depth and sectioning 50% of the humour to the 'Need to be explained to men' section...
If your a girl you'll probably find this a stunning exploration into the amorous side of woman-kind, where a single real-sized woman stands up amidst a backlash of what male-kind throws at her. Despite all the disappointments and let-downs, her optimism has not been misplaced as prince charming finally cuts a path through the web of first-impressions, pride and prejudice (pun intentional) to sweep her off her feet... though if you read the sequel, Mark Darcy turns out not so positive.
If you're a guy, it'll be mildy funny but a little tedious in places and Renee Zellweger'd get it...