“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” made me mad
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” tells the story of Bridget Jones, a screenwriter navigating the complications of balancing her life alongside a blossoming relationship. With the completion of this film, there are now four movies within the “Bridget Jones” universe, each taking the viewer alongside Bridget through different stages and obstacles of her life. The new release pays tribute to the original film’s quirky plot, which I believe to be unrealistic beyond the bearings of a typical cheesy rom-com.
The film takes place in London, England which parallels the location of the first film. The “Bridget Jones” movies are based on the four-book series written by Helen Fielding, with “Mad About the Boy,” being the conclusion.
It follows Bridget’s new relationship with her boyfriend, which is rather unsettling to viewers as the two share a 20-year age gap. The audience does not root for the unlikely couple due to their incompatible personalities and lack of chemistry. The age gap does not contribute to the plot of the story in any way, and is more of an irrelevant detail that just made the viewers like Bridget less. I feel like this directorial choice made Bridget’s character less relatable, losing the charm the first three films established.
The movie’s plot was predictable and boring. The dialogue between characters felt ingenuine and manufactured. While watching the film I felt unamused, and often found myself guessing exactly what would happen next. The movie lacked suspense, I found myself nodding off due to the lack of plot twists and interesting scenes.
However, I did enjoy the soundtrack and visual composure of the film. The cinematography was beautiful as the director integrated a cohesive and especially pleasing color palette. There were humorous moments sprinkled in here and there. Unfortunately the sparse good aspects of the film do not outweigh the many mediocre and few outright bad directorial choices.
This movie has multiple areas for improvement. From the tacky storyline to the unsatisfying ending. “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” left me underwhelmed.
Overall this movie is not a must watch. Fans like myself were left feeling dull. I advise you to save your money and invest it somewhere more productive than putting it towards a movie ticket of a movie that will make you nothing but “mad”.
