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After two movies and a twelve-year hiatus, the cult classic series has returned to the big screen with the long-awaited third installment, “Bridget Jones’s Baby.” The tragic titular character has always brought on a slew of emotions and the new film is no different. With a well-written story, smart comedy, and a brand new love triangle, this romantic-comedy is no joke and will make any fan extremely happy.
“Bridget Jones’s Baby” picks up ten years after the second film, when it’s revealed that Bridget (Renée Zellweger) is single and lonely yet again. Her relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) has been on-and-off, as the two can never seem to be happy or committed. Instead of being focused on a relationship, Bridget is at the peak of her career and enjoying the perks of being single.
On a girls weekend with co-worker Miranda (the hilarious Sarah Solemani), Bridget awkwardly meets billionaire Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey), who takes an interest in her immediately. After a wild night, Bridget feels much better with her life, but of course, nothing is ever that simple for her. As hard as she tries to forget about Mark, she is forced to be around him a week later at her goddaughter’s christening, as he is the baby’s godfather. Newly divorced Mark engages with Bridget, further complicating their relationship. The plot then begins when Bridget finds out that she is pregnant, but can’t determine who the father is.
The film plays on a great “is he or isn’t he?” concept. Obviously, Mark and Bridget have a long, complicated history, yet they seem to keep finding each other in their crazy world. However, the very charming Jack has swooped in and appears to be everything that Bridget could want. The ultimate choice isn’t just who the father is, but rather who she wants to spend her life with. Bridget’s dilemmas are hilarious and very entertaining from start to end. No matter how hard she tries, everything always goes wrong for poor Bridget.
The story is extremely clever and well-written. The situations that are presented are realistic and relatable, which creates a good emotional connection between the audience and the characters. The script is laced with brilliant comedy that keeps the laughs coming during every scene. The dialogue and events of the film are equally funny, making “Bridget Jones’s Baby” the perfect rom-com.
The B-plot is also very intriguing and thought-provoking, oddly enough. Behind the pregnancy and love triangle drama is a look at the ever-changing media landscape. Bridget still works in the media industry, now as a television producer for the news channel Hard News. The channel’s management has been replaced with young twenty-somethings who have minimal media experience to change the look and feel of the older news station. Bridget and the rest of the older-aged staff members don’t know how to operate under the new media ways.
This is the case for many media companies these days. It was surprising that the film took a look at this very real situation because it didn’t further the story in any way.
The film is very enjoyable at all levels and keeps you guessing who Bridget will end up with until the very end. Even though it took six years for this movie to be made, “Bridget Jones’s Baby” is everything you could hope for and is not even a tiny bit disappointing. In fact, it’s probably better than you would think with great comedy and an endearing story.
