Bridget Jones' Diary (2001)

There is a very specific brand of British romantic comedies that is hard not to love, impossible to forget once seen and never lose their edge no matter how many times they are seen. The champion of this genre seems to be Richard Curtis, the mastermind of romcom classics like Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral, who lent his writing talents to the adaptation of Bridget Jones' Diary, which I admit I didn't know was originally a novel the first time I watched it. There isn't much I can say about the film that hasn't been said in the ten years since its production, but here it goes, anyway. This will be my first real movie review in recent times that is longer than 140 characters, so please bear with me.

The film tells the story of Bridget Jones, single, aged 32, mildly overweight, and portrayed charmingly by Renée Zellweger. After an embarrasing encounter with a man named Mark Darcy at a Christmas party, played by the unsurpassably British Colin Firth, she makes New Year's resoluions about finding love. At work, she begins an office romance with her boss, Daniel Cleaver, played by veteran romcom actor Hugh Grant. As the film progresses, she is torn between between him and Mark Darcy (fans of the 1990s Pride and Prejudice TV series will no doubt appreciate the casting) while making changes to her life and finding happiness and contentment on her own.

I liked the film the first time I saw it, and that fondness remains today. One thing that I particularly like about it is that it manages to put Bridget in situations that are awkward and comedic without being painfully embarrasing; i.e. you do feel sorry for her, but you can still appreciate the humor. While the Jane Austen-inspired love triangle she finds herself a part of may not be very polarizing, the toing-and-froing is quite compelling from start to finish as Darcy and Cleaver duke it out over her. And finally, the cherry on top is no doubt the underlying warmth and charm that hums underneath all the cynicism, the heartbreak and witty sarcasm and that never goes away, even in the saddest moments.

Verdict: 4/5

A warm, humorous and periodically heartwarming romcom