Written by: Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, Abi Morgan
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Jim Broadbent, Isla Fisher, Colin Firth
Rating: [3.5/5]
Losing the one you love can just about send anyone into a spiral. The person you thought you would live many decades with and to have it cut short causes this inescapable grief. A level of pain I would not wish on anyone, and seeing our beloved protagonist return to our screens having to endure this makes for something potentially difficult to watch, especially given the trend of the recent films of this series. To my surprise, Mad About the Boy, serves as a massive return to form and delivers in unexpected ways.
Living with her two kids and still mourning the loss of her husband, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) feels this pressure from others to get back out there and date again. Reticent to do so because of her ongoing battle with grief, she does meet a 29-year-old park ranger who takes quite the liking to her.
After a first film that made Bridget Jones a sensation, the second and third installments of this film series were pretty terrible. It made the release of this film something I was not necessarily looking forward to watching. Fortunately, my initial apprehension was quickly quelled by the very opening of the film that goes right for the gut. A scene where Bridget walks to a dinner party with her beloved Darcy only for when the door opens it shows he’s not there. It sets the stage for the gaping hole his passing has left behind for her. This grief grinds the film into something quite emotional, and with this anchor set it allows for the typical hijinks we can expect from a Bridget Jones story to unfold.
The central plot of this film hinges on the dynamic Bridget has with two male prospects, one a bit younger and another more age-appropriate. Roxster (Leo Woodall) goes on the charm offensive as this young hunk Bridget enjoys, but he comes with the immaturity one would expect from someone his age. Then we have Scott (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who fits more of the Darcy archetype where they originally butt heads but grow more amicable the more they interact. The dynamic she carries with these two closely mimics what Bridget had with Darcy and Cleaver (Hugh Grant) in the first film. While having some familiarity, her life circumstances changes how she reacts to these two men. She no longer had the carefree approach of her younger years, given she has two children at home that depend on her.
With it being almost a decade since the last film, Mad About the Boy also allowed us to check in with the other characters in Bridget’s life like her friends that have been with her from the beginning, but most importantly, Daniel Cleaver, portrayed with charm as always by Hugh Grant. His inclusion displays that the man still has a level of familial love for Bridget Jones as he serves as this loving uncle for her kids while still being devilishly into fooling around with women. Given the drop of quality in the last two films of this series, Grant has remained a constant with the energy he brings to Cleaver, and the man does it once again here.
Even with all the fun this film has, just like any Bridget Jones film, having it all center on the titular character’s grieving process allows for some real meat on the bone in this story. It asks the questions of when does it make sense to try and find love again. Again, all things that have been displayed in other films tackling grief but seeing this all play out for Bridget Jones, a beloved character many relate to, gives it a bit more meaning.
Providing a worthy conclusion to a character we all know and love, Mad About the Boy finally presents a sequel worthy of the first film. Renée Zellweger charms as she always does as the titular character as we go through this emotional journey for her. She must contend on what it looks like to reignite her romantic life following the death of someone she loved very dearly. Jones must balance this all while also being an attentive parent and also getting back into the workplace from a lengthy leave of absence. Everything comes together just right.
Films with Josh 
