Rating: Summary: Single humour. Review: ,,,I read the book when it came out, and have been looking forward to see the film ever since. I love the book, and don't think the film fully got the atmosphere of it, though the film stands perfectly alone. Renèe Zellweger is Bridget taken perfectly out of the book. A single woman in her thirties with people all around her expecting her to be a spinster all her life, while she is desperately hunting for the right man. She knows she eats too much, drinks too much, lives too unhealthy, and decides to start a diary to get hold of her life. The wonderful, funny part of it all is her self humour, and Zellweger plays this role to perfection.All predictabilities are there, a boss to fall in love with and having an affair with, a mother who is trying to "live her own life" running away from her father with a man she meets while she is never satisfied with the life Bridget lives, friends, among them a gay man, who tries to advise her about her life, and the respectable, though terrible boring Marc Darcy. Zellweger plays her role so filled with charm and is the one who does the whole film. Huge Grant, as the boss, and Colin Firth as Marc Darcy do quite good acting, but without Renée Zellweger to glue it all together the film would have lost it's magnificiance. Bridget Jones is British, and the story is British. Only one scene in the film was truly dissapointing - the fighting between Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) The scene were too violent and unreal, the story would have been much, much better if the fight could have been a fight to believe in. I think the fighting scene would do okay in an American movie, but not this 100 percent British story. All in all a great film. Not to match the book, but then very few films do...
Rating: Summary: Zellweger Is Winning Review: Bridget Jones's Diary was a best selling book by Helen Fielding and it was only a matter of time before it was brought to the screen. The book is extremely British in nature, so it was a major surprise when Renee Zellweger was cast to play the title role. Not only is Ms. Zellweger not British, she seems to be the exact opposite of the overweight Bridget who drinks and smokes too much and is a self described singleton. Despite the seeming miscasting, Ms. Zellweger is absolutely winning as Bridget. She perfectly captures the mini-crisis's that Bridget faces with charm and perfect comedic timing. The supporting cast is excellent as well, headed up by Hugh Grant as Bridget's playboy boss with whom she has a relationship with and Colin Firth as a stuffy lawyer who her mother is constantly trying to set her up with. But again, this is Ms. Zellweger's film all the way and she gives the best performance of her career and one that garnered her a 2001 Oscar nomination as best actress.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely fabulous comedy Review: I don't know if the British are funnier overall than Americans, or if we are exposed only to the best they have to offer. I do know that Bridget Jones's Diary is very British, even if it does star an American from Texas, and is one of the year's best comedies. It also travels well, as they say. Bridget's problems and fears are familiar to millions of people around the globe. She's the kind of character we laugh with instead of at. Bridget [Renee Zellweger] is in her early thirties. She lives in London in a modest flat. She has an okay job at an upscale publishing company. She doesn't have a bad life, but she has reached that age where she's beginning to fear much of the good things in life may pass her by. She's also beginning to fret about her bad habits. She smokes, she drinks, and she eats too much. One day her urbane and sexy boss, Daniel [Hugh Grant], notices her. Bridget is worldly enough to know this may lead to something but too innocent to see that an affair with him probably won't turn out well in the long run. Mark [Colin Firth], a handsome but priggish acquaintance of Bridget's definitely knows Daniel is no good for her, but his way of telling her this only serves to make her want Daniel more than ever. Meanwhile, Bridget's parents are having problems of their own, and Mom winds up running off with the silly, pompous host of a TV show. Zellweger was reluctant to take on the role of Bridget because, while the story is universal, it would not have survived being lifted out of its native England. New York for example, would have been entirely the wrong setting. She must have got the role right because the movie has been an even bigger hit in the U. K than it has been in America. After seeing her in it, I can't imagine anyone else's playing Brigit. It is a role she will always be identified with. Hugh Grant is marvelous, as always. He played a sort of male version of Bridget in Four Weddings and a Funeral, but, if anything, he is even better at playing a cad than he is a portraying a nice guy. Few actors can sum up a character in the first seconds of screen time as Grant does here. In his first scene he enters with a little smirk on his face that instantly tells us he's up to no good. As Mark, Colin Firth is first-rate. It's a role few actors could get right because Mark must always act prim and proper, yet also project enough warmth for the audience to relate to him. IF Firth hadn't been able to do this, the movie wouldn't have made sense. Bridget Jones's Diary's greatest appeal is to women because her problems, as well as her responses to them, are mainly feminine ones. Still, many men will also be charmed by it because it's so original and funny. This Bridget's definitely a winner.
Rating: Summary: Nails the book cold Review: While I'm trying very hard to not prejudice myself when a movie strays too far from what the original book was about, I will definately admire a film more when it does capture what the author of the book had in mind. This one does it, and does it very well. A lot of bad things could have been done to this film. They could have tried to make her more likeable by cutting down on the vices. They could have made her slimmer. Or, with reference to the recent "The Time Machine", they could have chucked England all together and put it in the U.S.. But they recognized that somehow Bridget is somehow likeable IN SPITE OF the mess her personal life is in, and maybe because of it. So they left it in England, and kept all the vices. And while Kate Winslett seemed the logical choice for the role, I thought it was a big gamble to get Texan Renee' Zellweger plumped up. The gamble paid off. One thing the movie adds that wasn't apparent in the book (nor could it be) was with the Mark Darcy part. It would seem that he is secretly attracted to her early in the story. As the book was her diary, we are not privy to it, and this was an interesting addition. The two male leads are also very good. Colin Firth seems to always come off as someone who needs a good bran muffin. Well, he has that look here, but also shows a very human side. And Hugh Grant does more acting just coming out of the elevator (showing his character's personality) in his opening scene than many actors do in an entire movie. He does a great job playing a guy to does some scummy things, but isn't really a bad person. Kind of like Bridget.
Rating: Summary: Bridget Jones Big Screen Adventure Review: This film was based on the extremely popular 'novel' of the same name, but having never read it (I'm not exactly the [right] audience), I cannot speak to its faithfulness. If the book was a very light comedy following an English girl with low self-esteem and trip-fire emotions, than this film is pretty close. Bridget (Renee Zellweger in a great performance) just can't seem to get relationships right. She seems to end up with Mister Wrong when Mister Right is knocking on the door. Without watching the film, some would call it a "chick flick." But, everyone can find this sturdy film entertaining at the least, especially seeing Hugh Grant in a antagonistic role. Even with a nice performance by Colin Firth as the on again, off again love interest, this film belongs to Zellweger, who shamelessly put on a flawless British accent and some extra poundage to get the character right... and honest. Enjoy the nice sounding DVD. It also has an audio commentary by the first time director and a couple music videos.
Rating: Summary: Funny Movie!! Review: This had to be one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I'll admit that when I watched it the first time I didn't really enjoy it, but after watching it again I fell in love with it. It was just way too funny. It's truly worth buying.
Rating: Summary: Bridget Jones Review: The movie was just as good as the book. I love this movie. Renee Zellweger did an great job playing Bridget & I really forgot that she was not British! Colin Firth & Hugh Grant are good in this movie as well.
Rating: Summary: Shelley Review: An absolutely hilarious, uplifting, and BETTER-THAN-THE-BOOK movie for real movie fans! Oh, by the way.... of BOTH sexes! Loved it! A great "date night" movie... getting over being dumped movie... pms'ing movie... already in a good mood movie... and, a movie to remind the man in your life why the good guy always wins!
Rating: Summary: Hormonally-imbalanced attempt at a feel-good movie... Review: Introducing "Bridget Jones." She's 32, single-never-been-married-no-kids, overweight, not sexy, not attractive, completely non-domestic, and doesn't try to "be" or "do" anything unless it's easy and feels good. And she can't understand why she can't nab a husband? She only wants the perfect, exciting man who has and is everything to accept her for what she is... a nice loser. (Gee... I've dated most all of her real-life contemporaries). One minute she's lonely and bored and the next minute, men are fighting to be with her. Only in your dreams, Bridge.... Hugh Grant and Renée Zellweger star in this attempt at a feel-good resolution for the ticking biological clock of irresponsible, do-nothing women. This show makes for a very unpleasant reminder for men who constantly encounter women wanting for everything, but doing nothing to get it. Skip this one, guys.
Rating: Summary: Do I even need to elaborate? Review: This movie is WONDERFUL. How could you not like a movie with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant? A sexy man twofer! A woman's dream!!!! I loved every minute of it...
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