Rating: Summary: Delicious Zellweger, Delectable Grant, and Hysterical Moment Review: What a wonderful surprise this movie was to me. I resisted it I admit, thinking I wouldn't relate to the plump heroine coping with loveless sex, dueling suitors and haughty English folk. Yet, not only does the movie sparkle in unexpected, laugh-riot moments, Renee Zellweger proves yet again what a stunning actress she's become. In the title role, she's silly and coy, at once vapid and brilliant, a heroine for our generation. Hugh Grant is slimy-sleazy as her boss, a real departure from his "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Jimmy STewart-ish character. And, Colin Firth excels as an unlikable suitor who in the end hooks Bridget with intelligence, heroism and a deep warmth that is rarely allowed to shine (ultimately it's Bridget who brings him out of his shell, while exchanging her own for a newer model!) Ever since "Jerry MaGuire" made her a star, Zellweger was dazzled in on screen roles like "Nurse Betty" and "One True Thing." This is an actress who is able to fully expose her character - warts and all. Where other actresses might shy away from brash, bold characters, Zellweger embraces them, and in the process, the audience falls in love. She has the sort of face that tells stories with small, seemingly unimportant facial expressions. A raised eyebrow here, a pursed lip there, she's able to convey layers of emotional context and depth that very few of her contemporaries can ever hope to achieve. Her spellbinding work opposite Meryl Streep in "One True Thing" is proof positive this star is here to stay - and deserves attention as quite possibly the best actress of today;s generation. Very few actresses could ever hope to shine opposite the legendary Streep, but Zellweger does that and more. In that film, and this one, she delivers a fully realized character, infusing Bridget with wit, charm, charisma, and more than anything - REALNESS. Ultimately, that's the best thing about this movie - the multiple levels Zellweger manages to pull off will allow even men to see parts of themselves through Bridget's eyes. Warm, lighthearted, but filled with detail and myriad emotions, "Bridget Jones' Diary" is a winner! Let's hope Zellweger finally cops an Oscar nomination (which she's deserved for other roles in "McGuire", "One True Thing" and "Betty"). At least her fellow actors know a brilliant performer when they see one - as she's been nominated for a Best Actress SAG Award (over Nicole Kidman who was thought of as a shoo in for "Moulin Rouge.") In a nutshell, this is a fun, entertaining movie, with great music, endearing moments of comedy, and another SHINING performance by Zellweger!
Rating: Summary: Read the damn book Review: If you want Fielding's original style, which is often a hysterical and spot-on depiction of singledom, just read Fielding's book. The movie makes all the classic Hollywood mistakes, including casting a beautiful actress in the role of a NORMAL PERSON. It's a cute big-budget Hollywood movie, and like those usually are, it's very forgettable. The best lines in it are straight from the book, so just get it from the source -- your local library -- and save the [money].
Rating: Summary: Zelwegger is a big surprise... Review: Bridget Jones' Diary is a fun, lighthearted romp. Renee Zelwegger is very good as the single-and-desperate protagonist. I loved her British accent, and how it didn't sound forced (ala Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors.)Zelwegger ended up being perfect for the role after all. She is neurotic, clumsy, and sexy. Colin Firth does another Mr. Darcy act (literally) and is dashing as ever. Hugh Grant is wonderful as the scummy Daniel Cleaver. Bridget's circle of friends are quite weak though in contrast to the strong ensemble in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The sub-plot about her parent's marital woes, I also found, was unnecessary. Still, it all adds up well.
Rating: Summary: The best movie ever made about the troubles of a woman!! Review: Where do I start? I loved this movie, I have watched it 10 times...I even baught the movie when It came out on video. It is a modern day retelling of the best Jane Austin book, Pride and Prejedice. It is truely a beautiful story about 30something woman, who has never had a break in love. Everytime she thinks it will work out in the love life or even in her family life... It always goes wrong. But at the end, it truelly shows how love and life can work out and how fate has a funny way of playing tricks on everyone of us. It is truelly heart warming, and if you are a single, overweight female over the age of 21, with romantic problems this movie will relate to you in ever level. I truelly believe this to be one of the best movies I have ever personally seen.
Rating: Summary: Good and Bad Review: While on the whole this was an enjoyable movie, two things bothered me enough that I am not going to purchase it. The first was the truly appalling amount of profanity. Almost every single character is foul-mouthed. While one character is introduced to us as liking to use the "F" word in her speech as often as possible, the other characters use it so often that it really isn't a distinguishing characteristic. The other thing that bothered me was how much hard liquor Bridget downed while alone. We're talking literally bottles of vodka all by herself. It got to the point where I figured that it didn't matter whether or not she ever got married because she'd be dead from cirrhosis of the liver within ten years anyway! Despite these things, I did enjoy the movie. The acting was very good, the basic storyline was good, if most of the profanity had been deleted the dialogue would have been great, it was great to see a somewhat more approachable Mr Darcy and it was truly delightful to see Hugh Grant as a villain! It could have been a 5 star movie and I'm disappointed.
Rating: Summary: To Bridget, Just as She is! Review: I have to confess that the primary reason I saw this hilarious movie was because of the casting of Colin Firth in the modernized role of Mr. Darcy inspired by the Jane Austen classic, Pride & Prejudice to which he also played the mysteriously deep Mr. Darcy. Colin Firth was well casted as the charming gentleman and hero in this romantic comedy. Renee Zellweger was brilliant with her witty and fun characterization of Bridget Jones. I feared that as a native Texan, Renee would fail to accurately portray the tarty and tongue-tied English marm but Renee pulled the role off convincingly. Hugh Grant was perfectly cast in his role as the manipulatively charming Daniel Cleaver. I look forward to the sequel and recommend this comedy to anyone who enjoyed the classic.
Rating: Summary: Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! Review: I LOVED the book, Bridget Jone's Diary, so much that I immediately went out and bought the sequel. I even stayed up all night reading it. Both books are hilarious and utterly charming. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to the movie. Unfortunately, I thought it was a cheapened version of the story. Renee' Zellweger is a fabulous Bridget and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth (Oh my! He is gorgeous!!)do an admirable job of portraying Cleaver and Darcy. However, the supporting cast of friends and co-workers are abyssmal portraying characters with no redeeming qualities--very unlike the book! My biggest complaint of all is that Bridget, with all of her flaws and quirks, is one of the most loveable and sympathetic literary heroines to come along in quite some time and this movie portrays her life and her friends' lives as vacuous. Where the book is charming, the movie is simply foul. For anyone who loves Jane Austen's P & P and stories with any integrity, this is not the movie for you.
Rating: Summary: Just as you are... Review: I could watch "Pride and Predjudice" over and over again. One of my top twenty, for sure. And now I have another favorite, Bridget Jones's Diary, to add to that list -- as watchable as the TV film series that partially inspired it. Having Colin Firth as one of the leading men in both films is also a plus. Though we women often say we want a man who can communicate, why is it when the Colin Firth character (in both films) hesitates at the most important moments to say what's on his heart that we find it so romantically irresistable? I guess it's because in both films, the truth does eventually come out (something that doesn't always happen in real life). If you've always wanted to be liked "just as you are" (my favorite line from the movie), this is the one for you...to watch over and over again.
Rating: Summary: Just the best . Review: I just loved Renee in this movie. She is so funny and so convincing in the role she played. I saw it in the theater first, and could hardly wait for it to come out in video. Even though the language is pretty bad at times, it has a purpose and that is why a person can overlook it.
Rating: Summary: Whets the appetite for Pride & Prejudice Review: This movie was an agreeable way to blow 90 minutes. Perhaps its greatest virtue is it encourages one to read or watch Pride and Prejudice (again). Please note: I have not read the book, Bridget Jones's Diary. Hugh Grant, as Daniel Cleaver, or Wickham-lite, provides the best comedy. Charmingly sleazy. I liked how he referred to Bridget Jones by her last name, so I'm going to have emulate him in this review. In my opinion he was under-used. Even when he gets his come-uppence in the office, with Jones making a crack and everyone ha-ha-ing at the boss, in his eyes you can see a witty report but on film he says nothing. A lost opportunity. Colin Frith is excellent of course. I find it difficult to describe his acting with his eyes when he is looking at the woman he loves. They show, at the very least, that he needs and wants her while at the same time exhibiting an uncertain pain and a questioning doubt of her ability to love him. A very similar look was used by him in A&Es Pride and Prejudice, incidentally, an excellent film. Renee Zwelleger was alright. She had some loopy charm (I really liked her frizzed-out 1980s coiffure), but very little depth--which didn't seem to be her fault, rather the script's. She looked great, its hard for me to believe so much fuss was made about the weight she put on. Several things were irritating about this film. In my opinion, having old people talk about their sex lives in order for the protagonist to show exasperated disgust and get a cheap laugh from the audience is lousy, desperate comedy. And several of the jokes seemed really dumbed down, like the audience couldn't figure out the humor without an arrow draw above it: for example, it kills the humor to have the mother introducing, hanging around, and then pointedly leaving Jones and D'Arcey alone together. The blaring love songs I can tolerate. However, the several slow-motions were ridiculous and unitentionally funny. It also seemed strange to me that the diary, in the movie anyway, is not very important at all, merely an afterthought. Only at the end does it provide a curve for the lovers to overcome.
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