Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Writers:

Helen Fielding (novel), Helen Fielding (screenplay),

Stars:

Renée Zellweger, Gemma Jones, Colin Firth

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Renée Zellweger	...	Bridget Jones
Gemma Jones	...	Bridget's Mum
Celia Imrie	...	Una Alconbury
James Faulkner	...	Uncle Geoffrey
Jim Broadbent	...	Bridget's Dad
Colin Firth	...	Mark Darcy
Charmian May	...	Mrs. Darcy
Hugh Grant	...	Daniel Cleaver
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Fitzherbert
Felicity Montagu	...	Perpetua
Shirley Henderson	...	Jude
Sally Phillips	...	Shazza
James Callis	...	Tom
Charlie Caine	...	Handsome Stranger
Gareth Marks	...	Simon in Marketing

Storyline

Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man, and her many imperfections. As a New Year's Resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss takes an interest in the quirky Miss Jones. Thrown into the mix are Bridget's band of slightly eccentric friends and a rather disagreeable acquaintance who Bridget cannot seem to stop running into or help finding quietly attractive.

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Plot Keywords:

boss | diary | love | single | friend | 

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Taglines:

This Year's Resolutions: Stop smoking. Stop drinking. Find inner poise. Go to the gym three times a week. Don't flirt with the boss. Reduce thighs. Learn to love thighs. Forget about thighs. Stop making lists.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some strong sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK Ireland France

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

El diario de Bridget Jones

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,140,040 (Italy) (19 October 2001)

Gross:

$149,761,366 (Europe) (30 November 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kate Winslet, Juliette Binoche, Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, Saffron Burrows, Julie Benz, Nicollette Sheridan, Selma Blair, Helena Bonham Carter, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, Emma Thompson, Toni Collette, Amanda Donohoe, Emily Mortimer, Claire Forlani, Tilda Swinton, Elizabeth Hurley, Lucy Lawless, Naomi Watts, Catherine McCormack, Janet McTeer, Sophie Marceau, Sally Phillips, Julia Ormond, Joely Richardson, Miranda Richardson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Rachel Weisz and Alex Kingston were all considered for the role of Bridget Jones.

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Goofs

After the dinner party, Darcy is talking to Bridget at the bottom of the stairs and his position changes between shots.

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Quotes

Bridget: Have bottom size of Brazil.

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Crazy Credits

The European and Australian version of Bridget Jones's Diary does not contain footage of the birthday party during the credits. Instead, it has interviews with Daniel Cleaver (twice), Mark Darcy's parents, and the boss at 'Sit up Britain'.

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Connections

Version of Lost in Austen

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Soundtracks

"Kiss That Girl"
Written by Sheryl Crow (as Crow)
Performed by Sheryl Crow
Licensed courtesy of Interscope Records

User Reviews

It's not just charming - I insist it's charming

With certain bad movies - "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a famous extreme example - you start to wonder if there's something wrong with people who don't realise that they're bad. I'm not saying that if someone LIKES "Plan 9" then his or her brain probably needs to be repaired; the suspicious, unhealthy thing is not LIKING the film, but being of the opinion that it's good. (Many people have a soft spot for it precisely BECAUSE they realise how bad it is. In this way it differs from something like "Timecode", where either liking the film OR having a high opinion of it is something to be embarrassed about.) And something similar applies to, say, "Citizen Kane". Disliking it makes sense; thinking it's a bad film does not.

But there's another kind of film that tempts me to be even more presumptuous. "Dumbo" is the best example I can think of at the moment. I can see why one might (mistakenly) have a low opinion of "Dumbo": some of the footage IS mere padding, the triumph at the end is too swift, the charge has been laid (falsely, but not ludicrously) that the crows are racist caricatures ... and so forth. But surely even the people who think "Dumbo" is a bad film must still manage to like it. If they don't, THEN I'm suspicious.

I feel this way, to a greater or lesser degree, about a number of light comedies, and this is one of them. I can't honestly say that I revere or adore "Bridget Jones's Diary" (N.B.: I'm male), but all the same, I can't help thinking that people who take an active dislike to it have something wrong with them. This applies not just to the film as a whole but to Bridget Jones, the central character, in particular. What has she done to merit dislike? She's beautiful (as beautiful as Renée Zellweger has ever been on screen), honest and kind-hearted. The diary she keeps certainly reveals her many flaws, but none is particularly pronounced, most are purely negative and anyway, she shares them all with the rest of us - so don't pretend you're not like this, too.

This is an amiable, well-written and fresh romantic comedy with, for ONCE, an attractive female protagonist. It's far from being the greatest film ever made and there may be grounds for attacking it which I haven't touched upon (I suppose there always are), and so all in all I'll understand your not thinking as much of it as I do, but, dammit, you'd better LIKE it.