“Bridget Jones’s Diary” initially appeared as a serial story in 1995 in “The Independent”. A year later, the adventures of the 32-year-old single woman were published as a book and conquered the publishing market. The heroine herself has been described as “a contemporary symbol of the aspirations and problems of young women.”
She played the role of Bridget Renee Zellwegerand they are her on-screen partners Hugh Grant and Colin Firth. The main character is convinced that everyone around her is doing well in life, but she is somehow left behind. So she decides to change something: she starts keeping a diary and sets clear goals for herself – to lose a few kilos and find true love. Bridget’s life is chaos and she faces unexpected events at every turn.
For many years I avoided watching “Bridget Jones’s Diary” – for several reasons. Firstly I’m not a fan of comedyespecially the romantic ones. Secondly, I felt that rather I won’t have much in common with the over 30-year-old heroine. This week I reached for this “cult production” for the first time and it turns out that my predictions were correct. However, I must admit that there were a few moments that surprised me. In a negative way.
When reviewing the materials related to the “Diary”, what attracts attention is the constant emphasis how much of a “new” character Bridget is. She does not fit into the canons of beauty, she is not perfect, she smokes, drinks, talks openly about her intimacy and is not afraid to do stupid things.
Well, the heroine was definitely breaking convention in some way, and I’m not saying that a woman shouldn’t do all these things. Bridget is a human like everyone else and can do human things – eat away stress, drink away sadness and sit in pajamas in the evenings instead of going to the gym. Thanks to these activities, it has certainly become more “normal” and closer to the recipients.
Despite everything, I had the impression that although the production tries to show us that everyone deserves love no matter what they are like, Bridget has become a character that is difficult for me to watch. In each of them, the heroine is treated like a stupid animal, who won’t be able to cope without clear guidance from a man. She often looks like an idiot because she doesn’t believe in herself at all, and others clip her wings.
Another element that particularly caught my attention is that Bridget is obsessed with her weight, but at the same time does little to change it. But one by one: at every step the heroine hears that she is fat and should do something about it. Except in this day and age her weight would be perceived as completely normal: 65 kg is not a dizzying number, and unfortunately Bridget is constantly listening to jokes and plans to lose weight. So I’m not surprised that she has low self-esteem and finds happiness in finding a man.
Attempts to lose weight end in failure, which is not surprising considering the liters of alcoholic beverages which he consumes on any occasionoften getting drunk at the same time. This is one of those elements that is difficult for me to turn a blind eye to. I understand different canons of beauty, requirements for women and challenges at work. I don’t understand however, normalizing alcohol consumption so often and in quantities that lead to intoxication and convincing viewers that it is ok.
It is certain that I will not return to this production and I will probably not be convinced to see the next parts. I will put “Bridget Jones’s Diary” aside on the shelf of film curiosities and try to forget about what I experienced during the screening, often asking myself “where are the end credits?!”
From time to time I get acquainted with cult productions that I may have missed somewhere. I decided to watch “Bridget Jones’s Diary” precisely because of the reputation of the film adaptation. All I knew about the film was that it was a romantic comedy with a love triangle and that the main character was played by Renée Zellweger. I basically had no expectations. I’m not a fan of this type of movie and I expected two hours of my life to be wasted. Here you go! I quite liked Bridget Jones’s Diary I was surprised myself at how much fun I had during the show.
Before praising certain aspects of the film, I cannot ignore its shortcomings. Patrycja rightly pointed out that the production had harmful plot elements, the worst of which was probably the suggestion of illness while weighing 65 kg. “Bridget Jones’s Diary” has its sins, which could imitate bad patterns among young viewers, but it should be remembered that the project was not addressed to them. Bridget was supposed to be loved by women around the age of 30, who are usually expected to have an orderly life, when in fact they have barely completed the stage of being a “young adult”.
I must reveal that I am still far from the age of the main character and I can only guess what pressure rests on the shoulders of people of this age and what dilemmas may haunt them. Nevertheless, I had the impression that and I identified with the clumsy and less than perfect Jones. Does Bridget complain about her weight and do nothing about it? Yes, but how many of us decide to go to the gym every January and give up after the first few tries? Does the heroine overdo it with stimulants? Yes, but escaping to harmful substances is actually one of the most common ways of “solving problems” among adults. Instead of building self-esteem, does the Londoner resort to looking for the perfect boyfriend? None of us is perfect, everyone has their own complexes. Bridget just wants to love and be loved.
And this love is, in my opinion, the greatest phenomenon of the film. Not only were brilliant actors hired to play the role of charming Bridget’s admirers – Hugh Grant and Colin Firth – who can play roles in romantic comedies flawlessly, but the characters they present are so hypnotizing that it is simply impossible to ignore them. I may be a little biased because I could watch Hugh on screen non-stop, but who hasn’t fallen in love with handsome womanizer Daniel Cleaver? Who hasn’t found Mark Darcy’s stiff character’ego is somehow attractive? After all, there is nothing more attractive than an intelligent man, as the lawyer played by Firth was created to be. The love triangle from “Bridget Jones’s Diary” perfectly reflects the novel in terms of the dynamics of events. There is so much happening on the screen that we feel as if we have already read at least three books.
The character of Bridget itself is based on humor, which I usually categorize in film and television productions as “awkward humor”. Throughout the entire show, we witness her bizarre antics and uncontrolled statements. The viewer is supposed to feel the shame that the main character feels after each unsuccessful social contact, and then come to the conclusion: “it’s not just me” or “others have it worse.” The heroine of “Diary” is supposed to charm us, we are supposed to support her in her attempts to achieve her goals, even though they always end in failure, we are supposed to want her to find love. There is no place for intense thinking or asking questions in this film. We have to let ourselves be carried away by the story, and Bridget will take us on an emotional rollercoaster.
“Bridget Jones’s Diary” is undoubtedly a cult and groundbreaking production, considering that there are few heroines in cinema like the clumsy and charming Jones. The film has drawbacks and repeats negative patterns – which we must remember – but this does not mean that we should completely remove the film from the list of films “to watch”. Bridget’s fate is definitely worth knowing, even now, 23 years after the film’s premiere. We are not able to say whether Bridget remains the undisputed queen of romantic comedies – since then, there have been a number of quite reasonable productions that have also become popular with viewers around the world. However, we know that the fate of a slow-witted London resident is a kind of phenomenon, Therefore, it is worth watching the film and forming your own opinion. Just remember not to think too much about the meaning of individual scenes. Let yourself be carried away by the story!
About the series “Time to refresh! Young people evaluate cult films”
The series “Time to refresh! Young people evaluate cult films” is our journey through time, during which young journalists reach for famous titles that leave a lasting mark on pop culture. We check how the hits of yesteryear are received today – what is still fascinating and what has become outdated? Follow the next texts and discover with us whether cult films from the past have stood the test of time.
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