Oh, this is so much fun!!

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2002)

I watched this movie unwillingly--a friend encouraged me to see it, since I thought it was just going to be a sex-diary sort of movie. As a fan of Zellweger's from "Nurse Betty," I really enjoyed seeing her in this film. She looked like a "normal" woman, and the humor was wonderfully down-to-earth. I've never been a fan of Grant's, but I was happy to finally seeing him playing the greasy playboy I've always thought he was, and happy that he DIDN'T get the girl! (Drove me nuts that he kept playing stuttering nice guys in all these period movies, getting all dressed up and looking innocently lost. Gag.) But the guy who DID get the girl... "Ummm," I thought (since I was unable to really get out a coherent thought :), "Who IS this guy?!" He gets the girl in this movie opposite two well-known movie stars, and I've never heard of him before!? So I wandered over to the IMDb and discovered Colin Firth (and "Pride and Prejudice"! WATCH THIS MOVIE!! :), and have never been the same since. :) People wrote articles asking the question: "Grant or Firth?" and I snort. Firth, of course. Hands-down. No competition, and there never was. Grant is just an overly-confident British guy with a posh accent. Firth...is worth admiring. The final sequence of the film with him in that great coat and turtleneck and look oh so...um... Anyway, that whole sequence makes up for all of the grating you have to endure for Bridget's sake to get through the Grant parts to the really good parts at the end of film, when Grant's character is finally out of the picture.
In any case, all three actors (and the supporting cast) do a really wonderful job with this movie. You will laugh--guys AND girls--and not mind watching it again. I've never before seen a fight scene like the one this movie has.
Downsides: a lot of obscenities. Otherwise, though, this is a really fun movie. And you have to appreciate the whole "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy" background to understand how truly ironic and wickedly funny this movie actually is. There is a whole subculture in the female English-speaking world surrounding Mr. Firth, and this film capitalizes (and is actually partially based on) this subculture. Bridget Jones is the embodiment of 30-something unmarried females who love watching "Pride and Prejudice." :) Enjoy!