Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Writers:

Helen Fielding (novel)
Helen Fielding (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's Monday morning, Bridget has woken up with a headache, a hangover and her boss.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Boss | Diary | Single | Barrister | Friend

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 29 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

Also Known As:

Bridget Jones (UK) (informal title)
Le journal de Bridget Jones (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:18SX | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (cut) | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 (cut) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R (certificate #38033)

Filming Locations:

Borough Market, Borough, London, England, UK

Company:

Little Bird

Trivia:

In order to make her English accent seem more natural, Renée Zellweger retained it on set even while not shooting. Hugh Grant once noted that he did not hear her speak in an American accent until the wrap party, after the film was completed, where he heard her speak "in a very strange voice" that he soon found out was her own natural tone.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fight between Mark and David go through the window. In the shots of the glass the writing drastically changes.

Quotes:

Daniel Cleaver: Come on Bridget, we belong together - you, me, poor little skirt. If I can't make it with you then I can't make it with anyone.
Bridget: That's not a good enough offer for me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN (TO YOUR HEART)

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.