Rent Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Twenty-Five Years Well Wasted - Bridget Jones's Diary review by griggs

I took a mere twenty-five years to get round to Bridget Jones's Diary, which is not a great turnaround time. In my defence, when it came out I was a 22-year-old single guy and a rom-com about a thirty-something woman juggling useless men and low-level life panic did not exactly feel aimed at me. I would not even have taken a date to see it. Largely because finding one would have been the bigger fantasy.

Turns out I was the one missing out. This is smart, filthy in the right places, properly funny, and cast about as well as a rom-com can be. The real stroke of genius: casting Colin Firth as Mark Darcy when everyone already fancied him as Mr Darcy — Fielding built the book as a modern Austen retelling, and the film is smart enough to let that joke land without spelling it out. Hugh Grant, meanwhile, has rarely been better than he is here, weaponising charm and smarm in equal measure.

Renée Zellweger is terrific. The London geography is nonsense, the snow looks like it was arranged by a greetings card company, and none of that matters. Warm, sharp, and considerably better than I had any right to expect.

Great Comedy - Watch It At Christmas - Bridget Jones's Diary review by GI

Whilst not exactly a Christmas themed film it is nevertheless a great watch over the Christmas season with the film bookended by scenes set in the winter. Basically a witty and cleverly scripted comedy of manners adapted from the bestselling novel by Helen Fielding who co-scripted with Richard Curtis. The story homages Pride & Prejudice even giving the main male character the name D'Arcy and of course it's a sharp exploration of modern relationship struggles. The casting of American actress Renée Zellweger as the titular Bridget raised some eyebrows considering that she is quintessentially English but doubters soon saw that she is excellent in the role even gaining an Academy award nomination, in fact its nigh impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Bridget is a thirty something woman, single, despairing of ever finding true love and sinks into the depression of over eating, smoking and drinking. He snobby mother (Gemma Jones) is always trying to pair her up with the sons of her friends including the very serious Mark D'Arcy (Colin Firth) who Bridget considers rude and cold. However she does fancy her boss Daniel (Hugh Grant in a brilliant performance as a real cad). Coincidentally Mark and Daniel hate one another for reasons that become a key plot point. Bridget is socially inept but deep down a warm and quite lovely character. All this cues a hilarious relationship comedy that uses parties as the conduit for people to meet, bond or re-evaluate their opinions of each other. The novel is a modern classic (well worth reading if you haven't) and this adaptation is a superb comedy that nails it's themes very accurately. A joy to watch over Christmas.