DIARY
OF ROMANCE Rocky Mountain Review - April13, 2001 It doesn't take much
insight to understand why Bridget Jones's Diary became such a popular read.
Helen Fielding's 1996 novel, which began life as a column in British
newspapers, focused on an overweight, 32-year-old London woman who struggled
to cut back on food, cigarettes and alcohol. Readers identified. Fielding's Jones also
fretted over finding the right man - sometimes any man at all. She became a
heroine for downtrodden working women who struggle with self-image, a chubby
goddess of '90s consciousness presented with just enough satirical spin to
allow readers to maintain some face-saving distance. Now comes the movie
version, starring Renee Zellweger as Bridget. It took a bit of adjustment for
the British press to accept Zellweger in the lead role. Initially, I had a
similar problem, but not because of Zellweger's acting or accent. Unlike
Gwyneth Paltrow, who frequently works with an English accent, Zellweger seems
thoroughly American. Zellweger pulls off a
neat trick, conveying an engaging mixture of cuteness and smarts in a woman
who always seems to be one step away from total happiness or crushing despair.
To play the role, Zellweger not only mastered a British accent but gained 20
pounds. She's entirely plausible as a woman who displays something every
actress battles against: fat. In an opening scene,
Bridget sits alone in her apartment, drinking wine and lip-syncing All by
Myself. In that moment of loneliness, Zellweger re-establishes her reputation
as a deft comic actress, redeeming herself from work in dubious efforts such
as Me Myself and Irene and Nurse Betty. Zellweger carries Bridget to paydirt. Director Sharon
Maguire (working from a screenplay by Fielding and two additional writers) has
softened the novel to concoct something more palatable for movies; a romantic
comedy that skims wittily along its attractive surface. Zellweger receives
support from Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, who play the men in her life. Grant
portrays Daniel, Bridget's boss in the world of London publishing, where she
works in public relations. He's charming and slick. When he falls for Bridget,
we brace for trouble. Grant's Daniel
contrasts with Mark Darcy (Firth's character), a smug attorney with remarkably
bad taste in sweaters. He's wearing a sweater emblazoned with a large
reindeer's head when we meet him at a New Year's party. Bridget's mom (Gemma
Jones) drags her to the party in hopes of introducing her to a suitable man. The dialogue brims
with glib assertion. Get one area of life under control and another surely
will unravel - at least for Bridget. Just as she seems to be getting on
famously with Daniel, her mother falls for a TV pitchman, leaving her poor
father (Jim Broadbent) to suffer in solitude. Buoyed by her
newfound, albeit untested, romance, Bridget mistakenly asks Daniel if he loves
her. Thus begins Daniel's commitment anxiety, which leads to a variety of
developments that make Mark look more attractive. Once Bridget gets
crosswise with Daniel, she seeks new work, landing a job in current-affairs
television where she does vacuous features. A spot involving a fire house and
fire pole results in a pretty good laugh. A scene in which Bridget wears a
costume to a party without having been told that the costume part of the event
had been canceled should resonate with anyone who ever has felt acutely out of
place at a social gathering. Maguire's direction
isn't always supple. A fight between Grant and Firth seems to be carried a bit
far, leading to some broad physical humor that's a bit out of place. And the
ending seems protracted and pat. But Grant finally gets to play a man whose attractive surface conceals shoddy character traits. Firth, familiar from the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, makes the transition from pompous to appealing. Bridget Jones, sort of Austen for the moment, has a pleasing blend of romance and laughs. The trendy novel that inspired the movie may slip from view, but Zellweger's Bridget should linger fondly in memory. |