Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition) (2004) review on movielords.com

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Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (Widescreen Edition) (2004)

(3.5 Stars) Nothing to Add in Her Diary Except Slapsticks

While watching the second 'Bridget Jones' film, about 15 minutes in, I realized that the sequel is not going to be the same kind of romantic comedy. In short, more comedy and less romance. Not that the film is bad; it's surely amusing to see it, but in a very different way. Though the actors are as energetic as ever, slapsticks take the place of the original's character-driven story.

When the film starts, we see happy Bridget. Good for her, but then we remember another Bridget of the original, so miserable in her family's annual Christmas turkey curry buffet. And then, because of her misery so convincing, we related to her character immediately. It was a magical touch, which the new film fatally lacks. Instead, the second film gives us a parody of one classic musical, and a sketch of Bridget's awfully botched TV report among dirty pigs in a dirty pigsty ... oh dear.

I am not saying the film is not funny (people were laughing in the theatre, I can tell you). There are many funny moments in this new 'Bridget Jones' film. I'm just saying that the film has nothing to add to the original's story that ended four years ago. Why did they have to make this film anyway?

Actually, if there is a good reason to make this sequel, it's to see again perpetual womanizer Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and listen to his devilishly sweet and hilarious talk, which is, he is clearly aware, total nothing. Hugh Grant has a strange talent of giving irresistible charms to very empty words, which cast a spell on us too.

Compared with him, the love story of Mark and Bridget are not very intersting. The film shows, Mark and Bridget must overcome another misunderstanding, but that's exactly they were doing about four years ago. The writers couldn't find anything new to write about in this new diary, and the film fails to produce the original's natural and spontaneous feelings between them. And the idea of "Bridget in Thailand" and the 'Brokendown Place'-like story is never the right material for the heroine whose delectable personality is most effective when coupled with the British middle-class values, not on the tropical beach.

The second 'Bridget' is not all slapsticks -- thanks to four screenwriters including Andrew Davies ('Pride and Prejudice') and Richard Curtis ('Love Actually'), and sure, the dialogues become sometimes lively, but just sometimes. You probably will notice Richard Curtis's touch, when Bridget mistakes 'Iran' for a person's name. But witty jokes and intelligence are hard to find in this (unwittingly) ironically titled 'The Edge of Reason.'

The film is funny to some extent, but that's because Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, and especially Hugh Grant are doing good job. The unkind camera often captures the chubby face of Bridget and that's done tactlessly, but thanks to Renee Zellweger the scenes remain watchable. The gifted players keep the film rolling, and as romantic comedy 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' is entertaining, but not as much as the original.

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