Bridget Jones’s Baby? – Oh Good!
Oh – what a surprise! The popular Bridget Jones is back and this time there’s a new deal – a bun in the oven with a bit of a quandary as to who is the definitive doting dad! Director Sharon Maguire with a cast including Colin Firth and dishy Patrick Dempsey, not to forget Emma Thompson playing the curious and accommodating Dr Rawlings, delivers a comedy which raises smiles and laughs which increase as the saga unfolds. For fans of Ed Sheeran, he plays himself at the start of the saga and Jude played by Shirley Henderson is hilarious in this ongoing “who is dad?” dilemma.
On watching the film’s story unfold, I felt myself thinking of families around the television watching the DVD in a couple of months’ time, especially enjoying the totally girly aspect of it. Of course, younger viewers are going to wonder whether they will go through the same trial – hopefully not, but it doesn’t stop the story being enchanting and full of questions about just how a “young” woman who has quite a good job in a television company could end up getting pregnant despite her body clock going forward at the rate of knots and her doctor wanting to do an amneocentesis test when she discovers her age not to mention agreeing to have two different potential fathers attend the scans.
I would suggest that this story tries one’s ability to believe, but the way it unfolds one can totally see how the dilemma and ultimate unions of various characters comes about and the various get togethers including a funeral for one of Bridget’s previous amours who – if the audience leave before all the credits have run, will NOT know is suddenly discovered to be still alive.
Great love emanates from the relationship between the two potential fathers and Bridget’s numerous twitches and tweaks in her facial expressions makes it a possibility that this was taught to her in an acting class as they are far and above those of most actresses and Do in some strange way, add to Bridget’s characterisation. In addition, as a British viewer, the frailty and confused character of Bridget is seen as a deliberate ploy to depict her as in some ways having missed out on women becoming stronger, more independent and more feminist and it would be somewhat strange to view an American story with a lead female portrayed with the same ploys when the female image has changed so substantially in the past thirty or so years.
The backdrop of the television studio where Bridget works, with a very “bigged up” female boss and with Bridget’s best friend trying to see Bridget “right” adds a certain frisson to the proceedings. There are many laughs and light moments, and, yes, we do ultimately discover who the father of the new baby is, but overall I guess the average response to the film will be that this is comedy and that any relation to the average life of most earth dwellers is purely coincidental and very unlikely. But it is a movie not to be missed nevertheless for those who enjoy a film which lifts them up and carries them along with humour, love and style. So do see it, if not at your local cinema, at home on DVD or otherwise, with a nice glass of wine. Enjoy.
Penny Nair Price