Rent Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)

Poignant Sequel To A Lovable Series - Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy review by GI

After 25 years since this lovable character hit our screens we now have a rather poignant and more subtle fourth film that eschews the pratfall comedy (for the most part) and this time around deals with a variety of modern issues such as grief, loneliness, parenting and finding love again. The film cleverly includes nearly all the beloved characters from the previous films albeit often too briefly in some cases and I was left with the feeling that some parts of the film have been edited out (an early scene with Isla Fisher is never fulfilled and she is never seen again in the film for instance). However we join Bridget (Renée Zellweger) four years after her beloved husband Mark (Colin Firth, seen in Bridget's grieving imagination) has been killed while working overseas. Living on the idyllic edge of Hampstead Heath and with two primary school children who she is trying to nurture as a single parent, but who yearns for some comfort from a possible relationship although she feels guilty about trying to find one. She does eventually get a fling with the super handsome Roxster (Leo Woodall), and Rock Star being the obvious play on words here. He's a lot younger, she has great sex but knows it's never going to amount to much. Woodall here is the objectified male body required to get his shirt off a few times, often while wet as a sort of homage to D'Arcy from Pride & Prejudice and the link of course to Firth. Eventually romance blossoms for Bridget in the form of her children's science teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) following a school trip to the Lake District. Along this journey the film deals with the children's reactions to their father's death, although it's soon revealed it's Bridget who is coping less well with this. The heart of the film comes from her friends, the 'gang' who have supported her over the years and from Hugh Grant's Daniel, the womanising cad who is given a real grounded character here and is almost the soul of the film with a heart wrenching scene where he lays out his connection to Bridget. This is not an especially complex or sophisticated film it's more like a reunion for the characters and for us the audience to catch up with these lovable, flawed group and see how they are all getting on. But in that sense it's a joy, a gentle comedy of manners vibe with laughs, tears and plenty to smile about. And a final shout out to Emma Thompson who is a real treat here as the no nonsense gynaecologist who gets to advise Bridget routinely throughout the film.