Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

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 | Lawyer | Single | British

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

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 | 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:

While filmgoers were eager to see Hugh Grant play a character opposite to his usual type-cast, it is ironic that original author Helen Fielding describes him, in real life, as being more like Daniel Cleaver, than any of his "normal" roles.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As Daniel and Mark push their way into the restaurant, Bridget is heard shouting "No,no,no,no!" as she runs across to stop them, but her mouth doesn't move.

Quotes:

Mark Darcy: Bridget!
Bridget: Mark... What are you doing here?
Mark Darcy: I was just wondering if you were available for Bar Mitzvahs and Christenings in addition to Ruby Weddings.
Bridget: I thought you were in America.
Mark Darcy: Well I was... but I realized I had forgotten something here.
Bridget: Which was...?
Mark Darcy: Well, I realized that I had forgotten to... kiss you goodbye, do you mind?
Bridget: Umm... not really, no. So... does this mean you're NOT going to America?
Mark Darcy: No... not.
Bridget: Does this mean you're staying here?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Renée Zellweger/Eve (#26.17)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

LOVE

Brill!

Speaking as a singleton of a certain age, I found this move dead on. Although set in England, the theme and feelings of single people everywhere were universal. The plot line stayed pretty true to the book with a few exceptions but the tone stayed the same. I know when I went to see this with a female friend there were many men in the audience who looked like they had been dragged there but 5 minutes into the move they were laughing as hard (if not harder) than the women in the audience. This is definitely not just a "chick flick." Renee Zellweger was a perfect Bridget. When I first heard that she was going to play this role, I was skeptical but after I saw it(which I did twice, so far!) I couldn't imagine anyone else with such a mixture of cynicism and innocence. Bravo to the casting of Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as Cleaver and Darcy, respectively. If this movie doesn't win some Oscars it will be a crying shame.