It’s been nine years since we’ve seen Bridget Jones on screen. Turns out, absence hasn’t dimmed her ability to entertain and stumble into awkward situations. Now, she’s back in a new streaming film—the fourth in the franchise—just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Based on the novels from Helen Fielding, we first met Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) in 2001. She was trying to figure out her love life, which included her boss Daniel (Hugh Grant) and a handsome lawyer named Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). That continued through two more films in 2004 and 2016.
Finally, Bridget and Mark seemed settled and happy, starting their family. Now, with the latest film—Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy—we pick things up in the future. Bridget has two kids but she’s still something of a mess. A lot of that owes to the fact that Mark, her true love, has passed away. It’s been some time since his death, but Bridget still hasn’t moved on.
Her friends are still there, encouraging her to move forward. Daniel is still there to urge her forward and to entertain her children. And Dr. Rawlings (Emma Thompson) is still there to tell it to her straight. But Bridget is locked into her quiet home life and taking care of her children. Eventually, she starts to pull out of it.
That starts with first trying to return to work. With her job back under her, can Bridget find love, again? When she meets a handsome younger man (Leo Woodall), sparks fly. Bridget jumps in, but is it the right love connection? Is she ready to move on from Mark?
There are a few things have become hallmarks of these movies. The first is Zellweger in this role—a part that earned her an Academy Award nomination for the first film. She remains just as you’d remember in this role, aging as you’d expect with Bridget and exploring in this film a woman in a different phase of her life.
It’s fun seeing Grant, Thompson, and others back in these roles. It feels like returning to a familiar hang that you’ve enjoyed for the past 24 years. But we feel the loss of Firth. His Mark was such an integral part of the franchise, especially in the ways he played off Zellweger. We see him in a few quick sequences, and the nostalgia and emotion of those moments is some of when the film works best.
But Zellweger has an uncanny talent for being able to bring these awkward moments in Bridget’s journey to life. We get that here, and it works to lighten the mood for a film that, at times, feels much heavier than the installments that came before it. Still, it feels like a fitting journey and continuation, and having Zellweger back in this role in a new chapter feels like a welcome return.
Fans of the franchise will undoubtedly be pleased Bridget is back. Fans looking for a good time with a few laughs and some moments that pull at the heartstrings will be pleased to add Mad About the Boy to their queue this holiday weekend.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is now streaming on Peacock.