Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Here is the defining critique you've been searching for ;-) My girlfriend of course ranked this movie much higher than I did, proving that, unlike the much better first film, the sequel does not have great universal appeal. The only really positive comparison I can make is that Zellweger is excellent in both; after that, the movie doesn't overwhelm in terms of plot, story, or characters. The Thailand tangent sucks any emotional investment you might make right back out again, and by the time the loose ends are tied, the whole thing seems a little too manufactured; meanwhile, the male characters seem like two-diminsional add-ons designed to show how cute and desirable Bridget is. And if I were really jaded, I'd say, "C'mon, two handsome bachelors fighting over an overweight social misfit? I don't think so." This one is truly a female-targeted fairy tale with, simply put, not as many laughs as there could have been. However, it is good and worth seeing---just not for 10+ dollars each on the big screen...