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:

Aloof. Unavailable. Ice queen. - Aloof. Unavailable. Ice queen. - Aloof. Unavailable. Ice queen. - (quite fancy a snog though...)

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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: Apparently, I used to run round naked in his paddling pool.
Daniel Cleaver: I bet you did, you dirty bitch.

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Crazy Credits

After "The End" appears, it's crossed out and "The Beginning" added.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Girls on Film (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
Written by Nick Ashford (as Ashford) and Valerie Simpson (as Simpson)
Performed by Diana Ross
Courtesy of Mowtown Records Co LP/Universal-Island Records Limited
Licensed by kind permission from The Film & TV Licensing Division, part of the Universal Music Group

User Reviews

ridiculously hilarious

Being a long time fan of the BJD books (three years and counting), I had nothing but high hopes for the movie version. I was lucky enough to get into a sneak preview last night, and I was not disappointed. The movie, like the book, has the most hilarious lines and moments, and each of the actors portrayed their characters so well you couldn't imagine anyone else in that part. Renee Zellweger IS Bridget, there is just no arguing it. No other actress could have pulled off what Renee did in this movie. Hugh Grant makes for an excellent Daniel, who is completely two faced and has a smarmy sort of charm that makes you want him just as badly as Bridget does. Colin Firth is a superb Mark Darcy, but that was a given because the character was practically written with him in mind - as all avid BJD readers know, Mark Darcy's character is a play on the Mr. Darcy Firth portrayed in Pride and Prejudice.

Some of the more hardcore fans of the book may be disappointed with all the missing jokes and scenes, but to film the entire book would have left us with a 10 hour movie. The writers did an excellent job distilling the essence of the novel, and the finished product has all the charm and wit of the original. The audience, many of whom I'm sure have never read the book (and many of whom, surprisingly, were male), laughed nonstop throughout the film, and everyone seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. As for those of us who have read it, I do believe that this is one of those rare book-to-movie jobs that was really spot-on, and everything that was noticeably changed in the process only makes the movie better. So go see it, it's hands-down one of the best movies of 2001 so far.