Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

I watched Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the sequel, before I watched Bridget Jones's Diary, because I'm a dumbass who can't read the outside of a freakin' DVD case.

The sequel picks up six weeks after the original's end. Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is happy in her new relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). The inciting incident happens when when an attractive, younger woman (Rebecca Gilles, played by the beautiful Jacinda Barrett) begins working with Mark, causing Bridget to doubt her new relationship. Of course, more obstacles arise with the return of Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) when he starts working with Bridget again.

I neglected to discuss the other characters in the post on the first movie. The whole ensemble was great with Bridget's three bitchy yet supportive friends, Tom (James Callis), Jude (Shirley Henderson, Moaning Myrtle from the Harry Potter movies) and Shazzer (Sally Phillips). Bridget's vulgar, too-much-information giving Mum (the fabulous Gemma Jones) and her charmingly pessimistic Dad (Jim Broadbent) are also comical and complement each other.


I have read the comments section for this film on the IMDB page and it seems a lot of people were disappointed by the sequel. I guess not having seen either, the sequel was new stuff to me, so I enjoyed it. Another criticism was about the outlandishness of some of the situations like the mushroom trip, skiing and prison scenes. I actually found those the most humorous because they were over the top. More criticism at a twist in the plot at the end that is different in the book. I won't give it away, but I actually really like this twist for a few reasons. The biggest one being that I hate it when obstacles are presented to make another woman seem predatory and out to get the heroine's man. There are already way too many stories pitting women against each other over men. The other reason is that it shows that Bridget made up some of this conflict in her head. I think it's fairly common but usually the conflicts in these types of movies are external.


On the flipside, the cons include the fact that Bridget is a little TOO much into her head and comes off as more insecure and unsure than in the original. Another factor about why the audiences may not have been as happy with this one is that the great ensemble cast of the first movie were not as prominent in the sequel because of the time spent in Thailand and the prison. I did still enjoy it, in particular, the scene where Bridget is trying to buy a pregnancy test in a language she does not know with the pharmacist and the other customers trying to guess what she wants.

Bridget: Look...I'm a girl who met a boy....frauleine and I met frau...boy and now, possibly meet bebe." (I think it's all in the delivery)

More ramblings to come.......