or: A real chick flick.
One word to sum it up: Bonkers.
Let's start off the new year of reviews with a movie I watched before Christmas (man, I am getting slack with these!). What do you get when you put a porkier-than-usual Renee Zellweger, the ever so dreamy Hugh Grant and an arrogant and cynical Colin Firth in one movie? Well, apart from getting a good combo of actors, you get Bridget Jones's Diary, quite possibly the Bible-movie for the real woman. Or, rather, it's the movie that deals with the pain of dressing up like a prostitute to a party which was once a costumed one, but they cancelled that idea without you knowing. Now come on...we've all had bad dreams like that, now haven't we?
Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man, and her many imperfections. As a New Year's Resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss (Hugh Grant) takes an interest in the quirky Miss Jones. Thrown into the mix are Bridget's band of slightly eccentric friends and a rather disagreeable acquaintance (Colin Firth)who Bridget cannot seem to stop running into or help finding quietly attractive.
Being a chick, of course I had this magnetic attraction to this movie. But the thing was, I loved it more than I thought I would. Considering I'm not really the biggest fan of Renee Zellweger, she really did it for me. While she was just another American actress, she seemed to fit the role of a British 'spinster' quite well, with her high pitched accent and fearless pulling off of her frumpy wardrobe. Everything that Bridget does seems to end in disaster, and while this kind of behaviour is usually what you'd expect of a ditzy stocky character, Bridget is one the audience can really feel for. Instead of just laughing your head off at her antics, it's more like that 'aw, bless her' kind of attitude. If a woman hasn't found herself in a Bridget-situation at least once before she dies, then she hasn't lived.
Bridget Jones's Diary has a really clever script, which carefully intertwines slapstick comedy with clever jokes that never get tiresome. Along with that, it has an always interesting love triangle which develops as the film progresses. While the two men Bridget has within arms reach may be complete asses, you can't help but hope for the best with whoever she chooses. Colin Firth is a particular standout, as he is so deadpan and arrogant in this movie that it makes you ponder on how many good bones the man has in his body...not many, if I were to guess. After watching this movie, I wondered what happened to all these good chick flicks. Yeah, even the crap ones are enjoyable, but this one is actually hilariously funny. Which is a trait that many of the recent chick flicks seem to forget.
THE VERDICT: Awesome chick flick for 15 years and up, with a charming performance from Renee Zellweger as our lovely heroine.
8/10
I was talking to a friend the other day who reckoned that the Fight scene between Firth and Grant in that Bridget Jones is the best and most realistic fight scene in movie history.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced, but I will admit it's a pretty good movie (for a girls film, obviously)