Year of Release: 2004
Director: Beeban Kidron
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Jacinda Barrett, Sally Phillips, James Callis, Shirley Henderson, Celia Imrie, James Faulkner, Neil Pearson, Catherine Russell, Ian McNeice, Paul Nicholls, Neil Dudgeon, Mark Tandy
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review:
After the successful first foray into the life of Bridget Jones, a sequel was of course inevitable. The creative team shuffled a bit, with director Beeban Kidron replacing previous helmer Sharon Maguire. This time around, we're introduced to Bridget's life as her relationship with Mark Darcy is slowly getting into the swing of it. Bridget is still working at the network where she has been for some time, still causing some hilarious incidents. Mark in the meantime has some new colleagues, including Rebecca Gillies, who sparks all sorts of insecurities in Bridget. As their relationship goes through some hurdles, and they get better acquainted with each other, Bridget is forced to reconnect with Daniel Cleaver, who in the meantime left publishing, and ventured into Broadcasting, with a TV Show of his own. Bridget and Daniel are sent to Thailand in order to do a Travel show for the channel they're both working with. After what seems like a possible attempt at a reconciliation, Bridget soon realizes Daniel is still the same person he has always been, and soon after she finds herself in hot waters, due to some unwanted contraband.
One of the most interesting aspects of the "Bridget Jones" series of films, is of course Renee Zellweger's ability to shed all inhibitions and even ego, and just run with the character through a series of situations that are a mix of awkwardness and physical comedy. The fact that she also marries all this with a very subtle angst about aging, women's physical stereotypes, is the more commendable, since she makes it all look so effortless and natural. While all of this was somewhat balanced in the first film, which featured an economic narrative, this sequel throws the amorous relationship at its center through some hurdles, dealing with insecurities and shortcomings. However whereas the first film had some spontaneity and charm to it, this one, and as much as Renee Zellweger tries to both elicit humor and ground the character and the situations, they're at times so preposterous that it doesn't really resonate. Beeban Kidron, known for such films as "Used People" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar", mostly tries to illustrate the narrative, without bringing much of a unique point of view to it. Nonetheless, it's still a film with some really well resolved aspects to it, and again features a great cast bringing all these characters to life. Besides Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, all manage to cement their characters' journeys, and provide some really great rapport with the central character. The production team is impeccable, with highlight going to the cinematography from the late Adrian Biddle. Though not as solidly entertaining as the first feature, it's still worth watching.
0 comments:
Post a Comment