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    Bridget Jones's Baby

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    Apparently, I’m the one person in the world that likes “Bridget Jones’s Diary” for all the wrong reasons. I love the first’s love story and character arcs. I hated, loathed, despised the second but audiences made it a $260 million hit! By having Bridget revert to the same insecure self that she was at the beginning of the first film, the sequel did nothing but water down and repeat all of the actions of the first and I demand better. You should’ve too! It’s been 12 years and we’ve “finally” gotten another. Is it a return to form or has the franchise decided to keep digging itself a deeper grave?

    Despite Bridget catching a bouquet at the end of “Edge of Reason”, “Bridget Jones’s Baby” begins by informing us that Bridget (Renée Zellweger) and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) have broken up. In fact, they never got married. When our heroine has a one-night stand with a sexy American dating expert named Jack (Patrick Dempsey) and then another fling with her former lover, she learns that she’s pregnant. But who’s the father?

    My biggest criticism is that this “Baby” isn’t terribly creative and doesn’t take many risks. The film has Bridget start as a single woman AGAIN. Once she gets impregnated, she needs to figure out who to choose as the man she’s going to end up with, AGAIN. Even the way she’s going to decide this is safe. Only one of the two guys can be the father (unless they pull a fast one and reveal that she’s having fraternal twins) so whichever one got in there at the right time is the one she’ll end up with. Too easy I say. I know this film is a comedy, but the best part of the first picture was the romance. Bridget growing more confident in herself, Mark being able to realize his love for her and the two of them ending up together is what sold us on the film. This may be a dark turn, but what if Bridget cheated on Mark while their marriage was on the rocks, or while her insecurities had taken the best of her? Then we’d have some real drama as Mark has to struggle with whether or not he can forgive her. Bridget could be frustrated at herself while trying to figure out if this is a sign that it’s time for her to start a new life with a new man. There’d be a much more touching love story in a man forgiving a woman that he loves despite her faults than in this goofy scenario. Or maybe I’m wrong. You let me know.

    There are numerous scenes that started sowing doubt within me at the beginning of this 2016 romantic comedy. An awfully convenient moment where we learn that despite the fact that at first Mark appeared married, he’s actually single; a scene in which Bridget accidentally feeds stupid questions to a co-worker delivering an interview, or a frantic drive to the hospital that has Bridget and Mark asking for help from an Italian delivery car… instead of asking him to call a taxi for them. Lest you think I hate the film, keep reading.

    All that said, I do give the film the mildest of recommendations. For every preposterous moment that would never happen to a real person – even to someone as accident prone as Bridget – there are tender ones as well. It’s been years since Mark and Bridget first fell in love, but when the two are together, simply discussing how they feel, it’s so genuine. You want them to rekindle their love despite the fact that there’s another man in the equation. The fact that Jack is a genuinely good guy instead of a piece of jerk chicken adds interest as well. There are funny moments throughout and several of them are relatable, like presentations to the office that go wrong, embarrassing anniversaries you wish no one would know about, and some welcome additions to the series. Emma Thompson plays Bridget’s gynecologist and she drew laughs from me every time she was on-screen. It’s a light comedy with modest goals. At being fluffy, making you feel good and tickling your ribs, it succeeds consistently.

    The best and funniest thing about “Bridget Jones’s Baby” is that it completely ignores everything that happened in the flesh-eating mouthwash that was “Edge of Reason”. I’ve heard of soft reboots in superhero or sci-fi blockbuster films, but never in comedies. I welcome it. This film wants you to forget “Edge of Reason” so bad that when we see a short montage of Bridget and Mark together, every single one comes from the first film. I respect a picture that knows it dropped the ball along the way and at least attempts to rectify the mistake. Myself, I won’t be revisiting this third chapter in the series anytime soon, but I wasn’t outraged by it. I even had a good time for the most part and have to admit that “Bridget Jones’ Baby” managed to pleasantly surprise me. (Theatrical version on the Big Screen, September 17, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  19.9.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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