- Renee Zellweger, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall
- February 13th 2025
- 125
- Michael Morris
After four years of just surviving, Bridget Jones decides it’s time to go back to work and start dating again.
After almost 10 years, the beloved romantic comedy character Bridget Jones is back for one more outing in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
This fourth instalment is set four years after the death of Bridget’s husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Bridget now lives in a new house in Hampstead – instead of her Borough Market flat – with two young children Billy and Mabel (Casper Knopf and Mila Jankovic).
After simply getting by for four years, Bridget decides it’s time to start living life once again, so she hires a nanny (Nico Parker), returns to her work in TV producing and downloads a dating app.
Fans of the Bridget Jones series will probably be expecting another light-hearted and silly romantic comedy, but Mad About the Boy is not that. Given the subject matter, it had to be tonally very different. Bridget has matured and so the film had to evolve too.
There’s still a plenty of laughs and romance but this is more of a meaningful and heartfelt drama about coping with grief and learning how to remember your lost loved ones as you move on with your life.
Director Michael Morris successfully manages to strike a balance between the comedy and the emotional scenes. These are handled very well and you’ll be laughing one moment and tearing up the next.
Zellweger is once again charming and lovable as the relatable Bridget. This time around, her love interests are played by Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor. They are both welcome additions to the franchise but neither of them come close to matching Firth, Hugh Grant or Patrick Dempsey in the dashing love interest stakes.
On the topic of Grant, he returns to the franchise after sitting out of Bridget Jones’s Baby. There shouldn’t have been room for Daniel Cleaver in the story but his inclusion is handled well and the evolution of his relationship with Bridget is lovely. He’s also hilarious!
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is the best in the franchise since the original. It’s funny, heartwarming and life-affirming and a total delight to be reunited with Bridget and her pals once again.
In cinemas from Thursday 13th February.
By Hannah Wales.
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