Bridget Jones's Diary

Bridget Jones's Diary stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, a woman in her thirties, who, shock horror, has still not met Mr.Right. Bridget lives in London, and works for a publishing company. Regarded as a sad spinster by many, she is fixed up with blind dates at every available opportunity, people talk about her behind her back, and no one, including herself, seems to think very highly of her. She eats too much, drinks too much, smokes too much, and listens to sad love songs. It seems as though she has been convinced by those around her that she is nothing without a man in her life, and she has begun to think there's something wrong with her. In fact, there's nothing wrong with her except that she's a little eccentric, not so good socially, and doesn't fit properly in the slot that society has assigned to her.

One day, she meets a guy called Mark, played by Colin Firth, at a Christmas party. She says all the wrongs things, he seems like a bit of a square, and they take an instant dislike to each other. At about the same time, Bridget's boss, Daniel, played by Hugh Grant, starts taking an interest in her, and she, like many lonely people, is swept away in a romantic fantasy. Daniel is quite a rude character, he touches her in the lift, gets her into bed rather quickly, calls her Jones, and lies to her. Meanwhile, Mark keeps turning up at various functions, and each time he and Bridget meet, we sense that their contempt for each other is misplaced, and that maybe she's been looking in the wrong places for the love of her life. As the story proceeds, Bridget finds herself having to choose between Daniel and Mark, and we know that the wrong choice will be disastrous.

Bridget Jones's Diary is successful on many levels. First, it is hugely funny, although the humour is very British and may not be understood by all. Second, it's very true to life. All the characters in the film seem quite feasible; Bridget's friends for example are all very typical characters. The film strikes just the right balance between comedy and drama, just like real life does if you think about it. There is a bit of a plot mechanism chugging in the background, the old she-likes-him-she-hates-him thing that you see so often in romantic comedies, but the film rises above that so well that you hardly notice it at all. And finally, one cannot help but feel for the Bridget Jones character; she just wants happiness yet it seems that happiness doesn't want her. Or does it?