Bridget Jones’ Baby is a warm brain massage of a film. The film begins with Bridget on her 43rd birthday with “all by myself” playing yet again as we immediately get a return of the flavour of the beloved franchise, in all its lovely vapid splendour. The start of the film goes about establishing the events that followed where we left Bridget off. The film starts off strong with its trademark self-deprecating humour as we find out Hugh Grant’s character has been rather gracelessly killed off, in a manner that screams here lie the bones of someone who believes themselves to be too good to agree to be in the film. Which is what genuinely happened. There is a return of our favourite lines in the original such as “oh come the f*ck on Bridget”. After re introducing us to the slapstick world of Bridget Jones, much like the title suggests, she becomes impregnated with either Patrick Dempsey or Colin Firth’s child. They spend the rest of the film vying for her affection, in the bid to win her heart and be the best father. Fans of the Bridget Jones franchise will love this film.

It retains all of the quintessentially British charm even with the addition of an American love interest. Patrick Dempsey is great as the cool and sensitive American serving as a polar opposite to Colin Firth’s severe, traditional, bumbling Englishman. I would say it sometimes, at least initially, felt as though it was far too conscious of trying to be hip and down with the kids. This was seen through the inclusion of far too much Ed Sheeran, the use of ‘nutri-bullet’ as a verb and a rather painful addition of a scene where everyone is dancing to the Gangnam Style – four years too late. It did at times seriously reek of trying to be in and failing miserably. Except after a certain point it became clear that was the point.

It was part of this self-deprecating admission of how hilariously tragic the film really is. The film is too self aware for you to class it as a guilty pleasure so I recommend you find pleasure in it with pride. There was an undercurrent theme of female empowerment throughout the film. There’s a reference to Pussy Riot or the “menstruation castration liberation”, an actual line from the film. My favourite character by far was Emma Thomson’s portrayal as the doctor. She had all the most hilarious, empowering lines such as – “You’re absolutely capable of doing this on your own” a concept Bridget Jones has never quite grasped. Comedies about middle-aged women are few and far between, making this a quasi-important film. It won’t be added to the cannon anytime soon but I’m glad it exists. In short, it is fairly funny and exactly what you’d expect and want it to be.

Categories: Arts Theatre

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