A woman in search of intimacy finds herself

Rating: Null/10 (18 May 2002)

I checked out this movie with suspicious, squinted little snake eyes, intrigued by all the hype, but on the lookout for gushy sentiment and romantic drivel. Boy, was I surprised.
Bridget Jones is a 32-year-old, single, working woman, who has decided to trade some of her independence for a romantic relationship. She's thinking marriage. Her difficulties arise from the fact that, while she's charming, attractive, spontaneous, trusting, and perfectly sincere, she's not terribly bright.
As she enters this new stage of her life, she begins to journal about it. Ms. Jones narrates the film in the third person, as if audibly writing in her diary, a great way to get inside the personal struggles of the heroine.

Basically, in the course of her personal quest for a relationship, she's confronted with a choice between `intensity' and `intimacy,' the one offering danger and excitement, the other safety and excitement. They look alike, but they're not. The first type of relationship is your typical `cosmic' romance, in which some poor dumb idiot is always looking for a `soul mate,' who is always disappointed that nobody is perfect enough. This person is usually codependent. The second type of relationship, while less dangerous (it's a peculiarity of the human psyche that people are more sexually attractive to us when we associate them with danger), offers warmth, acceptance, mutual individuation, and self-expression. It's the joy of intimacy based upon clear-eyed acceptance of each other's strengths and faults.
There's a great scene in the video, where Bridget throws a dinner party for her friends. She's a horrible cook, and the meal is, by all accounts, hard to swallow. In a jocular mood, her friends argue over which of several courses was the worst. But it's not malicious. It's the kind of jesting that is totally affirming, that fully accepts Ms. Jones in spite of, and maybe also because of, her shortcomings. Now that's intimacy.