Somehow Bridget Jones Returned
Bridget Jones’s Diary shot to fame in 2001 and had two follow-up films all with great results. But as we haven’t seen or heard anything since the last movie, in 2016, most people figured we had said our last goodbyes to Renee Zellweger as the saucy, spicy, fantastic Bridget Jones. Apparently, we were wrong. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is slated to release on Valentine’s Day in 2025.
Everything We Know About Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
We know that Hugh Grant will return as the dashing and devilish Daniel Cleaver, his best kind of role. We have also learned that Emma Thompson, who played Bridget’s obstetrician in the third film, will return. Bridget is now in her fifties, and raising two children. In this Bridget Jones chapter, we follow Bridget in the modern world, navigating dating apps and social media, and of course, her love life.
There’s been no word yet on whether Colin Firth will make an appearance, but the spectacular Chiwetel Ejiofor is signed on, and Leo Woodall is also confirmed to be part of the cast. If you’ve read any of the books by Helen Fielding that these movies are based on, you have an idea of what’s coming, although, you can’t really be surprised if changes are made. It happens all the time.
Renee Zellweger Before Bridget Jones
Prior to the first film, fans had seen Renee Zellweger in only a handful of roles, most of them in romantic comedies. She played the love interest in Jerry Maguire, the distant daughter in One True Thing, and the love interest in The Bachelor. It was her turn as the starring role in Bridget Jones’s Diary that really woke audiences up to what she was capable of.
Bridget Jones Diary
She gained weight (albeit only “skyrocketing” up to a “hefty” 130 pounds, which is quite slim for a 5’5” woman), she took on a British accent, and even more impressively, she held her own against Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, two incredible actors in their own right.
In the first movie, Bridget Jones’s Diary, we meet Bridget, a publicity assistant at a publishing company, who is obsessed with losing weight and infatuated with her hot boss, Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, who plays into her affections but never actually commits. Then, she meets Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, who acts entirely uninterested in Bridget.
Ultimately, as Bridget tries to get her life together, keeping a diary of the trials and tribulations, she finds herself in a love triangle of sorts with Cleaver and Darcy.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
In the second film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, released only three years later in 2004, Bridget finds herself trapped once again between Cleaver and Darcy, seemingly in a strong relationship with one, yet finding herself pulled in by the other. By the end of the movie, Bridget Jones’s diary is clear on who Bridget will end up with. The end.
Right?
Wrong.
Bridget Jones’s Baby
A third film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, was released 12 years later, in 2016, with, you guessed it, Bridget Jones pregnant and, yes, in yet another love triangle. By the end of this movie, Bridget has her baby and we learn who the father is, and everyone lives happily ever after.
Except here we are again, eight years later, revisiting Bridget and her neuroses.
The Rom-Com We Need?
What we can be sure of is that there will be hijinks, hilarity, and some good old-fashioned fun. Perhaps there are those who are done with Bridget Jones and her ilk, but there are likely just as many who feel we need more silly, romantic comedies like Bridget Jones’s Diary now more than ever.
Only time will tell.
