‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ review: Third-time charm

Oggs Cruz

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ review: Third-time charm

Giles Keyte

'Amidst all the jokes and slapstick, there is a palpable melancholy in these characters' undying bid at true love,' writes movie critic Oggs Cruz

It has been 12 years since Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, when Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) proposed to Bridget Jones (Renee Zellwegger). 

Bridget, who humorously juggled her feelings for two bachelors with very different personalities, was supposed to have already gotten her well-deserved fairy tale ending. Bridget Jones’s Baby quickly dispels that notion. The movie opens with Bridget turning 43, very alone, and lip-synching Celine Dion’s All By Myself before awkwardly dancing to more contemporary music. 

Standard rom-com

 

There really is nothing outstandingly novel about Baby

It behaves like a standard rom-com, a film that is all too eager to please without ruffling any feathers. After discovering that she is pregnant and that her pregnancy may be the result of two unexpected trysts with two different men, Bridget again becomes the focus of the two gentlemen’s attention.

The first gentleman is Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey), a very debonair American billionaire whom Bridget meets at a music festival. The other gentleman is Mark Darcy, with whom Bridget reunite with during a wake.

Photo courtesy of United International Pictures

Baby is still funny. Its brand of comedy doesn’t stray too far from formula, with director Sharon Maguire concentrating not on fantabulous scenarios that test her protagonist’s mettle – like in the rather disappointing Edge of Reason – but on how humorously real she is amidst all the tacked on exaggerations. The movie still allows for sequences of unabashed absurdity, but its amusing soul lies really in Bridget and her quest for that ever-elusive happy ending.

Setting it apart

Photo courtesy of United International Pictures

Baby is an admittedly fun although clunky two hours. The performances are mostly lovely, with Zellwegger and Firth returning to their respective roles with immaculate ease. 

The film also has a clever musical sense. While its playlist of hits from previous decades mixed with those of today may be quite jarring, it emphasizes the state of mind that Bridget is forced to struggle with. She is neither young nor old. She is neither happy nor sad. She is as confused as the rest of the world that is charmed with the past but is addicted to everything contemporary. 

Screengrab from YouTube/Universal Pictures

Middle-aged love

Photo courtesy of United International Pictures

Sure, there are a lot of romances that feature middle-aged lovers. 

However, very few feature characters whose audiences have seen chasing love in their prime and at their peak. They are still chasing, and now with the assistance of an unexpected pregnancy. Amidst all the jokes and slapstick, there is a palpable melancholy in these characters’ undying bid at true love. – Rappler.com

Francis Joseph Cruz litigates for a living and writes about cinema for fun. The first Filipino movie he saw in the theaters was Carlo J. Caparas’ ‘Tirad Pass.’ Since then, he’s been on a mission to find better memories with Philippine cinema.

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