ROLL M |
Bridget Jones’s Diary (starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant; written by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies, Richard Curtis; based upon the book by Fielding; directed by Sharon Maguire; rated R)
Helen Fielding’s serialized, semi-autobiographical novel, Bridget Jones’s Diary, is veddy British. So quite a stir was created in Jolly Olde when Texas-born Renee Zellweger was cast in the title role. Sympathetic young thirty-something singles who had been following the exploits of the chain-smoking, booze swilling, terminally dieting Bridget had taken the character to heart – many even believing her to be a real person. Yet, following several months of intensive training with a dialog coach, and it would be hard to tell Zellweger from a real Brit. If you were blindfolded. Which most moviegoers are not.
Sorry, I just didn’t take to Zellweger in the part. Her British accent is impeccable, and her dedication was such that she even gained 20 pounds for the role, but whenever she’s on the screen, I couldn’t help seeing Nurse Betty or Jerry Maguire’s lady or even the young Jewish heroine in A Price Above Rubies. I like all those Zellweger characters, and I like her sweet, innocent, almost baby-voiced American accent. This made it difficult for me to suspend reality in Bridget Jones’s Diary.
That aside, the movie is an enjoyable romp, with Bridget rising from an unloved single to a young woman with two attractive men fighting over her (literally) while excerpts from her diary are narrated in voice-overs (including how many “units” of alcohol she’s consumed each day, or how many cigarettes smoked). Especially enjoyable is Hugh Grant, cast against type as Bridget’s sleazy, two-timing boss/lover.
Zellweger has made a career out of playing rather demure, downtrodden women who eventually find inner strength and the courage to rise above their circumstances and thrive despite the odds. To that repertoire we can add Bridget Jones. Let us hope Zellweger doesn’t become this generation’s Meryl Streep, doing new dialects with each film. There should be plenty of good parts for this talented actress on this side of the Pond.
THREE AND A HALF OWLS out of five.