Bridget Jones's Diary (The Movie)

     About 2 weeks ago while channel surfing (favorite past time by the way), I came upon the movie Bridget Jones's Diary.  It just started so I was in for a treat.  I'd forgotten how funny it was and how convincing Renee Zellweger's accent was, as if I would know?? :)

     Bridget Jones's Diary is a very popular novel written by Helen Fielding.  First published in 1996, it chronicles Bridget's (mis)adventures, love life, career, family & friends and her struggles with drinking & smoking, in form of a diary.  She lives in London and her parents live in the country (thereabouts).  Her mother often tries to match her with what she perceives to be a rich/handsome/successful bloke, and her dad is just trying to catch up with her mom's antics.  Her friends, however, are her pillars of strength.  They're there when she's up or when she's down. 

     In the 2001 movie, Renee Zellweger plays the titular character Bridget Jones, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver & Bridget's boss, and Colin Firth as the dark and enigmatic Mark Darcy. 

     Bridget has known Mark (supposedly) since they were children but they now seem to have a mutual dislike for each other.  Bridget thinks Mark is arrogant and rude, while Mark thinks of her as a fool.  Daniel, on the other hand, is all out flirting with Bridget in the office, sending her naughty messages and giving her knowing looks.  She inevitable falls for him and they start a relationship.  This clip shows them having a short vacay in the country, where they meet Mark Darcy and his colleague/girlfriend(??) Natasha.  Awkward!

     Here's another clip of Bridget attending her mother's soiree, where the theme was supposedly Tarts & Vicars... while Daniel goes back to the city prematurely for work.

     Bridget goes back to the city after the Tarts & Vicars misadventure only to discover what Daniel's been really up to, after spending the weekend with her... Nasty!

     She quits her job (natch) and gives Daniel a piece of her mind.

         

     She starts a career in TV, which actually...didn't start very well.

     She attends a dinner party after the firepole fiasco and saw herself in the hot seat for still being single and unattached :(.  Mark was at the dinner as well (with Natasha) and while Bridget was getting ready to leave, tells her something every girl dreams of hearing.  "I like you very much, just as you are."  Swoon!!

     Mark later on helps her out with an interview that got her brownie points from her TV station.  She offers dinner to her friends to celebrate.  While prepping, Mark drops by her house and she invites him to join them.  After a somewhat unsuccessful dinner (blue soup, anyone?), Daniel drops by to apologize.  Awkward, AGAIN!  Mark and Daniel soon start a brawl in the street.  After the fight, Bridget chastises Mark and then declines Daniel's offer to reunite (goodie!).

     She then realizes how wrong she was about Mark (Daniel gave her a sob story about Mark betraying him, when it was actually the other way around) and tries to make amends...

     Only to find out that he's moving to New York!  And Natasha's going with him!!

    

     Bridget's in a rut and her friends try to cheer her up by taking her to Paris.  As she was about to leave, Mark suddenly appears and declares that he came back for Bridget...  Double swoon :)

     Her friends leave for Paris while Bridget invites Mark up to her flat.  He nuzzles her neck (love that part) and she tells him to wait a while.  She goes to her room to change her knickers and while he's waiting, he sees her diary.  uh-oh.  Bridget hears the door slams, and sees Mark walking away.  She runs after him...

     in her knickers and sweater, and she finally sees him leaving a store.  She apologizes for her diary entries and Mark reveals that he left to buy her a new diary.  And they kiss.  Unfortunately I can't find a clip of that sweet, sweet ending in youtube :(

     I enjoyed this movie so much, that I bought the soundtrack CD, both of them :).  I just wish her friends had more airtime in the movie.  They had huge roles in Bridget's life.  But then again, its hard to cram everything in less than 2 hours... I get it.

     Here are some deleted scenes from the movie (quite funny)

Neighbor: Happy New Year, Bridget!
Bridget: Oh thanks Mr ... (can't make out the name).  How's your wife?
Neighbor: Still dead
Bridget: Oh.. yes of course, that's right.  Sorry.  Still, uh... Happy new year!
Neighbor: Thank you, sweetheart (and shakes his head as Bridget leaves).

     After watching Bridget Jones's Diary, I suddenly remembered "Love, Actually", another brit movie.   The entire family watched it last week, quite fitting as its almost Christmas.  Tell you more about that later on.

     Anyway, I'm hearing a 3rd Bridget Jones movie?  Wicked!