(Our dearest Bridget, still lovely and still putting her foot in it - even halfway around the world.)
CAST: Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Jacinda Barrett, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Sally Phillips.
DIRECTOR: Beeban Kidron
WARNING: Minimal SPOILERS and bad tourist behavior in Thailand right up ahead...
Ah, the fairy-tale ending. If only it were real. The most egregious sin of romantic comedies has been to perpetuate the myth that it is. Those of us who live in the real world, however, know better: relationships require work - and after that walk into the sunset usually lies a minefield that tests even the strongest relationships. And so it goes with the sequel to the 2001 hit BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY (based on Helen Fielding's international bestseller): after the "happily ever after" ending of the previous film that saw Bridget Jones (Renee Zellwegger) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) smooching in the snow, the sequel attempts to answer the question that Bridget herself asks: "Once you've found true love, how do you make it last?"
As with the first film, the sequel opens with Bridget headed for her parents' annual New Year's Day Turkey Curry Buffet. Normally, she regards these events with the same zeal a death row inmate has for the electric chair. However, this year there is a noticeable spring in Bridget's step as she arrives. You see, this year she has something she didn't have a year ago - an actual, living, breathing boyfriend. And that makes all the difference, thank you very much. Needless to say, Bridget's new love connection makes the event far better than the last one - which, for Bridget, was the social equivalent of Chinese Water Torture and a root canal without novocaine, combined.
You'll remember him as Mark Darcy, the ice prince who turned out to be quite lovely underneath. As our story begins, he and Bridget are picking up from that smooch in the snow and are embarking on the S.S. Relationship. Little do they know, though, that there are some treacherous waters straight ahead. Sure enough, the following things bash against their proverbial ship: (1) Bridget discovers that Mark has a new colleague who is tall, thin, sweet, and strikingly beautiful (Jacinda Barrett); (2) Bridget lets her mouth run wild - wow, shocker - at an important party Mark brings her to; (3) and Bridget's insecurities raise their ugly heads, convincing her she's not good enough for Mark.
To be fair, something else happens on Bridget's side of the street that further endangers the relationship: the re-appearance in her life of player/slimeball/human tomcat Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), looking even more attractive without that foppish hairstyle from the first movie. See, Daniel is now a colleague of Bridget's at her TV station, which - if you recall - is where she fled to in the last movie when she realized she couldn't work for Daniel anymore. Frankly, if someone I changed jobs because of followed me to my new place of employment, I would be a little more unsettled. Bridget, however, treats this as a minor inconvenience. Big mistake.
Meanwhile, the constant presence of Rebecca (Mark's statuesquely beautiful colleague) in Mark's proximity is further causing Bridget grief, despite the fact the girl has been nothing but kind and gracious to her. I guess a great personality is cancelled out by long legs and high cheekbones when viewed through the eyes of a crazy jealous Singleton. Whatever. This all leads to Bridget finally breaking up with Mark - who looks completely flabbergasted, and rightfully so.
Fortunately, Bridget doesn't have much time to mope and sulk (and you know she would have) because her boss at the TV station sends her on assignment to Thailand. But not alone - she travels there with (wait for it) Daniel Cleaver. Yes, Bridget Jones - recently split-up with her Mr. Right - is going to an exotic location halfway around the world with a guy whose dick should have a slogan that - like McDonald's - proudly boasts, "Millions served..." If you think that these are prime conditions for a scorching-hot, no-strings-attached, let's-just-run-with-it holiday affair, well.... let's just say that Bridget's Thai vacation doesn't quite go as planned. To wit, she encounters: (1) omelets made with magic mushrooms (really), (2) drug smugglers, and (3) a jail full of Madonna-worshipping and Wonder Bra-loving female inmates. And, yes, Mark shows up in Thailand. Probably to see what kind of damage Bridget can do in Asia.
Best to find everything out yourselves. Let me just say, though, that it's revealed at the end why Rebecca has been so, ahem, kind to Bridget. It's the "L" word folks - both "L" words.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: The first BRIDGET JONES film was a worldwide hit that even nabbed Rene Zellwegger an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The second one, while an undisputed international box-office smash, underperformed a bit here in the States. It also wasn't as critically well-received as its predecessor. I can understand why, but that's not to say that I agree or that the film deserved it. In my opinion, BRIDGET JONES: EDGE OF REASON is almost as good as BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY. In some respects, it's even a bit more mature than the latter, examining as it does what happens "after the sunset." Granted, it's not as if the film is one big relationship study, but it does not shy away from injecting a somber undercurrent here and there. Perhaps this is why the sequel isn't as well-regarded as the original film. While DIARY chronicled the adrenaline rush of discovering, pursuing, and gloriously catching a new love, REASON tackles the decidedly less pleasant issue of how to hold on to that love. After all, even the most compatible couple can fumble a relationship - nothing is written in the stars. Chemistry and passion can only go so far. Like anything worthwhile, a loving union requires work from both people.
Once again, Renee Zellwegger takes ownership of the role of Bridget Jones. As with the first film, she portrays Bridget as an affable and highly-relatable girl-next-door. We share her exhilaration and disbelief that she finally has a good man in her life, as well as her fear and worry of losing him - that he might just wake up and think he made a mistake. Zellwegger takes her performance from the first film - and imbues it with some appropriately deeper tones of melancholy. As Mark Darcy, Colin Firth is the same combo of cool composure and hidden soulfulness, and he maintains the same lovely chemistry with his leading lady. Hugh Grant, as he did before, brings verve and cheek to the role of Daniel which lends the film the necessary spark to leaven some of the new seriousness. Even though we know by now that he's an unreliable cad, we - like Bridget - still can't help but be swept along by his charisma.
Leading the supporting cast is Jacinda Barrett as Rebecca, the exceedingly lovely girl who turns out to be more interested in Bridget than Mark. Barrett radiates warmth and kindness and her final scene with Bridget has some real chemistry. If they ever decide to have Bridget experiment with the same sex, I can't think of a better person to take her hand. And Jacinda Barrett is one beautiful woman. As for Bridget's parents, Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent are just as good this time around. As are the actor and actresses playing Bridget's "urban family" of drinking buddies. Forgive me for still not remembering their names, but they have talent.
Bottom line: BRIDGET JONES: EDGE OF REASON bravely shows a glimmer of a relationship after the "happy ending." By doing so, it takes the air out of some of the earlier film's effervescence, but at the same time this gives the film some gravity unusual for a romantic comedy. Some people may not like to see realism when it comes to onscreen relationships, but I do. And as we all know, the work only really starts after you both tell each other, "I love you."
