Good Reading’s film critic reviews Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, based on the book of the same name by Helen Fielding

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy

Classification: M (sex references, coarse language) 2025; running time: 124 minutes; director: Michael Morris; cast includes: Renee Zellweger; language: English; in colour; genre: comedy, drama.

Twenty years has elapsed since Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) started writing her diary. She’s now in her early 50s, a widow with two pre-teen children. Her husband (fleeting flashbacks by Colin Firth) has been dead for four years.

Her three close friends from the first and subsequent Bridget films are still her close friends:

· Jude (Shirley Henderson) who, you will remember, spent many hours in the ladies loo crying over love affairs,

· Sharon (Sally Phillips) who included the ‘f’ word at least once in every sentence spoken, and

· Tom (James Callis) who pushed Sharon violently out of the way to introduce himself to Daniel Cleever (Hugh Grant) for whom he had strong feelings of lust.

The three are trying to convince Bridget that, after four years, it’s time to find a hot number to share her bed.

We don’t have to wait long. The two children climb a tree on Hampstead Heath and can’t get down. Mum goes to the rescue. All three are now stuck. Along comes two gallant rescuers: Roxster (Leo Woodall) a 29 year-old park ranger and Mr Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor) closer to Bridget’s age, a teacher at the children’s school.

Later, Roxster at a BBQ dives into a swimming pool fully clothed to rescue a cute little dog. He comes out dripping wet, with his white shirt clinging to his muscular torso. A take on Colin Firth’s celebrated scene as Mr Darcy in the 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Mr Walliker is a hard-working school teacher. He spends hours in the classroom; does playground duty every day; takes the school kids on an Outward Bound excursion; and single-handedly runs the music concert near the end of the film, while accompanying each performer on the piano.

We may marvel at Mr Walliker’s diligence but Bridget is more impressed when he, too, has to take his shirt off because they’ve all been caught in a sudden storm while out in the bush.

Sally Phillips, the actor who plays Sharon (uses the ‘f’ word frequently) received criticism from her church elders and some of the congregation. They thought she should not have accepted the part of a character who swears a lot and has a questionable attitude. She stayed in character with her answer.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is based on the novel by Helen Fielding who also co-wrote the script and co-produced the film. I have it on good authority that she was inspired to write the four Bridget Jones’ books after reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

The movie is entertaining, charming and very funny. I laughed out-loud many times. A few scenes will leave you with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye.

I have one reservation: at just over two hours it overstayed its welcome. But I suspect I’m in the minority for feeling that. The young lad singing solo at the end of the film could’ve been left on the cutting room floor.

I’ll end with a quote. It’s either from the film or from the novel, I can’t remember which:

‘Is sleeping with someone after two dates and six weeks of texting … the same as getting married after two meetings and six months of letter-writing … as in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?’

Three and a half stars

Reviewed by Clive Hodges