Almost Brilliant

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2004)

I must admit, I do like this film. I'm a sucker for British romantic comedies. But, what could have been the BritFlick to end all BritFlicks is fatally hobbled by the casting of Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones.
Don't get me wrong--against all odds, she acts the part wonderfully. In fact, she was made for the part. The one glaring problem is her accent. Ninety-five percent of the time, it's perfect. However, she gets enough wrong to never let you forget that she's a Texan playing an Englishwoman. I found it quite nervously distracting--almost like waiting for a high-wire artist to fall. Granted, it's nowhere nearly as bad as Don Cheadle's appalling, unnecessary Cockney accent in Ocean's 11, Dick Van Dyke's mush- mouthed oratory in Mary Poppins, or--worst of all--Kevin Costner's vomit-inducing delivery in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. BUT, it was just bad enough that it tarnished what could have been a real gem.
Why oh why didn't they cast a Brit? (Ditto for Johnny Depp in From Hell. Though he redeemed himself with his Keith Richards impression in Pirates of the Caribbean.) For that matter, why cast a Brit to play an American (e.g. the normally brilliant Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit)?
That said, BJD is better by far than ninety-nine percent of the dreck out there and certainly well worth a rental. And Hugh Grant, whose stammering Englishman schtick I normally can't stand, seems to be on a roll with this and the brilliant About a Boy.
Heck, I'm even looking forward to the sequel.