Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
There can’t be many people out there who haven’t seen Bridget Jones, it’s pretty much every girl’s favourite film seeing as Bridget represents the average woman so brilliantly. Renée Zellweger is brilliant as the hapless Bridget, a twenty-something girl living in London who one new year decides to start a diary following her life as she searches for love. Across this year Bridget’s path takes her career from low to high and relationships form with the ever charming Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and uptight gentleman Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Along the way her friends (played by the brilliant Shirley Henderson and Sally Phillips) prove a vital source of comfort and laughter as they cheer Bridget on in her quest to find happiness. Not forgetting Bridget’s parents (Jim Broadbent & Gemma Jones) who are suffering from their own love troubles.
This film has it all, family, friends, love and laughter and has become a firm favourite amongst all ages over the years. The cast is a mix of acting talent which brings a superb script together making an unforgettable film. Though Renée is American in real life she pulls off a middle-class Brit perfectly, and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are excellent as her love interests. I’ve always had a soft spot for those two, they are incredible actors who work really well together as proven in this film and the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (another brilliant film, hard to tell which one I like more!). Daniel Cleaver is the man that every girl wishes they could have, a charming good looking guy with everything going for him, whereas Mark Darcy appears uptight and very formal in comparison. By the end of the film though you are rooting for Bridget and Mark to realise they are made for each other!
As the film is set over a year we are taken through the seasons, showing London and the country in glorious sunshine, heavy rain and snow. Through it all England shines through and it makes you proud to be British. Of course the main reason we love the film is done to the honest portrayal of an average British woman’s life. We see Bridget wearing her now infamous ‘granny knickers’ on a date in order to suck in her wobbly bits and her desperate attempts at cooking, proving that not all women are perfect but that is what makes them as an individual special.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is a film that will be loved forever and is a must have in every woman’s DVD collection. You are guaranteed laughs throughout and will be able to watch it over and over again and still find it funny, perfect for a girlie night in!
