First, we saw Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) fight over the iconic Bridget Jones in the streets of London with The Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men” playing in the background. Then, our Bridget leaves for Thailand, still unable to decide whether she wants to settle down with Daniel or Mark. Later, with her first child, Bridget begins to figure out who the father is during an eventful period in her life. Finally, Bridget, now with two children and married to Mark Darcy, discovers the impacts of family, grief, and community once she and her children face a dramatic loss. She learns to cope with it through dating and finding new love.
The Bridget Jones tetralogy is 24 years old this year, and putting that in writing makes me feel like I’ve grown up with the story of Bridget and her boys, watching her go from single to taken to single to taken to married with children – it will never get old to me. Sitting down in the cinema on Valentine’s Day, I never expected to get teary-eyed at a Bridget Jones movie. “Mad About the Boy”, however, could still never completely replace the 2001 original to me.
The Bridget Jones tetralogy is 24 years old this year, and putting that in writing makes me feel like I’ve grown up with the story of Bridget and her boys, watching her go from single to taken to single to taken to married with children – it will never get old to me.
I must admit, though perhaps I am a little biased, that seeing Hugh Grant on the big screen is equally just as exciting as the first time around. His charm is truly unmatched, and though only a smaller role this time around, the fifteen minutes total that he was on the screen showing Bridget’s children how to make his signature “Dirty Bitch” cocktail, were still worth it to me.
I must admit, though perhaps I am a little biased, that seeing Hugh Grant on the big screen is equally just as exciting as the first time around.
Despite the incredible and truly iconic performance from all actors, most notably Renée Zellweger (Bridget), to me, “Mad About the Boy” was a good conclusion for the tetralogy – a well-executed ode to nostalgia and sentiment of the audience for the previous parts of the series, with an added tearjerking element, especially for those who rooted for Bridget and Mark.
Admittedly, the story of the recently released fourth Bridget Jones movie developed quite slowly at first – I found myself waiting for more to happen, knowing our chaotic Bridget from the previous movies. But perhaps her willingness to settle down and slow down is what reflects her success at being a mother.
Ultimately, what I’ve always loved about the Bridget Jones series was the fact that the storyline is very separate in each of the movies – watching them in order is good and probably recommended but is not necessary. Some of my friends went in only having watched the first movie or not having watched any of them at all, and they still managed to enjoy it as much as I did.
With Renée Zellweger claiming she has her “fingers crossed” that this is not the end of Bridget Jones, I am already beginning to wonder what her future will hold for the series. Perhaps more of a focus on her children? Or is Bridget settling down with someone new?
But, if this is the end of the series, I am so happy to have grown up with the franchise, which executes the chaos of growing up and becoming a young woman so well – even up until the moments of grief and loss.
