Cast: Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey
Director: Sharon Maguire
Despite being an immense fan of the epic Bridget Jones’s Diary which came out in 2001, I have to admit I wasn’t very excited when the trailer of the third part of the franchise, Bridget Jones’s Baby came out. Primarily because most sequels, when they are made after such a long gap, almost follow a set pattern or a formula set by the popular sequel and are far less original and thereby less impactfull as the prequels.
Interestingly, despite certain predictability in the plot, Bridget Jones’s Baby appears to be a fitting sequel of the popular franchise. Bridget Jones(Zellweger) may be a successful TV producer now, but her singlehood and subsequent pregnancy still manages to evoke laughter. The film opens with Jones celebrating her 43rd birthday at her apartment alone. And while she promises herself to enjoy the forced singlehood in the coming year that night, fate brings her face to face with her ex Mark Darcy(Firth) at the memorial service of Daniel Cleaver(Hugh Grant) who is presumed to be dead. Awkward pleasantries are exchanged as they go about their respective ways.
Her friend at work, news anchor Miranda devices the perfect plan for Jones, in which she can finally move on from Darcy. Miranda whisks Bridget away to a music festival where she ends up being first saved by millionaire Jack Qwant(Dempsey) and eventually being seduced by him. Soon after the one night stand, Bridget again meets Darcy, only to find out he is going through a divorce. Old feelings are hard to ignore and the former lovers end up in bed again.
While Bridget is firm about putting both the episodes behind her, fate makes her meet the two men again when she discovers she is pregnant but is unsure is the baby’s father. And thus begins a chaotic, hilarious 9 months where both men compete with each other to gain Bridget’s affection. Bridget, on her part remains torn. On one hand, she has a chance to be with Darcy, the man she was in love with for a long time and on the other she can’t help but be drawn to the charming good looking Jack who tries his utmost best to win her over.
While most of the original cast is retained, with Colin Firth playing the stiff, dry Darcy to perfection yet again, Patrick Dempsey also manages to shine as the charming, easy millionaire mathematician Jack. You find yourself rooting for both men strangely, because they are both that good. Renee Zellweger takes up the role of Bridget like she never left it. Bridget is still a bumbling, goofy insecure woman who is never too clear of what she wants in her life. The three leads make some of the scenes literally come alive with sly humour and situational jokes.
Its also a great thing that the director of the first film, Sharon Maguire directs the third part as well making the narrative flow naturally.
Despite Zellweger’s credible performance, one just can’t ignore how plastic she looks throughout the film. Of course, her character is meant to have aged, but the cute, slightly pudgy Bridget that we had loved in the earlier films is gone. Instead there is someone who looks haggard, who can’t smile too widely because of the botox and is a slim version of the frumpy, clumsy girl we all had fallen for along with Darcy. The change in Zellweger’s face seem more apparent specially in the montage shots which the director uses as part of flashback.
Having said that, Bridget Jones’s Baby remains mostly enjoyable. The film has a predictable story line but purely because of the performances you end up enjoying the film. Of course, it doesn’t match up to the first film- which was far more hilarious- but this one manages to be a good sequel.
Rating: 3/5
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