Bridget’s back, and turns out that
she is actually v. relevant 

Helen O'Hara | The Pool – September 16, 2016

Nearly a decade has passed since we last saw Bridget, and she has visibly grown and matured, reflecting where we are now, says Helen O’Hara.

The release of Bridget Jones's Baby 12 years after her last cinema outing is not just the return of the singleton who, like a cultural colossus in Spanx, bestrode the last two decades. It's a chance to see how far she, and we, have come. And as a bonus, considered on its own merits as a film its heroine would describe it as “v.g.”.

From her first appearance in Helen Fielding's newspaper columns in The Independent in 1995, Bridget spoke to and for women. She captured the contradictions of life for many modern, imperfect women: the desire to be strong and independent and feminist while also shamefully dreaming of a perfect, fashion-friendly figure and nice boyfriend. 

A book soon followed the columns, with a plot loosely based on Pride & Prejudice (most obviously in the name of Bridget's love interest, Mark Darcy). Its sequel, Edge Of Reason, was modelled after Persuasion, and had a comedy scene for the ages where Bridget was sent to interview Colin Firth (sadly, but inevitably, left out of the film adaptations) and spent the whole encounter trying to figure out how wet, exactly, his shirt had been in the Mr Darcy emerging-from-the-lake scene (in case you need to refresh your memory on that).

Bridget could be ridiculous, with a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but she was also engaged in the world, and her work, and more driven than her moments of ditziness might suggest. Bridget had political and social ideals, even if she expressed them in slightly woolly fashion, and she wasn't afraid to follow her passions – even if they sometimes led to disaster. The fact that she got up and tried again and again is what made her such a favourite.

The original book was more than a bestseller; it was a phenomenon, one of those stories that captures the spirit of a moment. New York had Sex & The City, with its sky-high Louboutins and perfect hair, but London had Bridget, slightly dishevelled and wriggling into granny pants to fit into her favourite party dresses. Endless Bridget turns of phrase entered the popular consciousness. It was the first time many of us heard the terms “singleton”, “smug married” or “fuckwit” – that last particularly useful. 

Film adaptations followed, with the Texan Renee Zellweger nailing a startlingly good accent to play Bridget and Colin Firth, naturally, as Darcy. Convincing us that someone might feasibly hesitate to jump his bones was left to Hugh Grant as the dastardly but dishy third leg to the love triangle. The first one, directed by Sharon Maguire (who inspired Bridget's best mate Shazza and who returns for this film), was a huge success; the sequel, without Maguire, rather less so. But this one is a welcome return to form.

It's based on the newspaper columns Fielding returned to in 2005 rather than on the third book, 2013's Mad About The Boy. The columns saw Bridget dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and unsure if the father was Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver – very similar to the dilemma in which she finds herself in Bridget Jones's Baby. But Grant's been replaced by tech guru Jack Qwant (Patrick “McDreamy” Dempsey) and Bridget – now a news producer in good standing – has to negotiate the two possible fathers of her baby as well as a fraught work situation. She's not even sure who she hopes the father will be: Darcy, who broke her heart once before, or this new and improbably handsome contender (his existence may not be quite as relatable as we'd all like). She also had to deal with her eccentric parents, outspoken friends and Emma Thompson's acerbic obstetrician (Thompson also did a pass on the screenplay, presumably adding the drier wit and giving herself the best lines, as is only right and proper).

The good news is that Bridget Jones's Baby is more than just consistently, gently funny. Nearly a decade has passed since we last saw Bridget, and she has visibly grown and matured, reflecting where we are now just as she reflected women in the 90s. She's more self-assured in her work, and more content with her accomplishments. She's no longer moping to All By Myself in her pyjamas but jumping around in pyjamas instead. And she's no longer tempted by Daniel Cleaver types, with their floppy hair and casual sense of entitlement; she regards him with fondness and more than a touch of eye-rolling. OK, so she still falls in the mud at festivals, and gets herself in a romantic pickle, but she's essentially pulled together and living a good life that makes her largely happy. 

That's the real power in sequels that acknowledge the passage of time – when they're done well, anyway. They show us a beloved character over a whole lifetime, growing with the original audience and continuing to reflect us. So even if 90s Bridget now seems remote from our concerns, this new film brings her back to our hearts. Turns out we missed her.