Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Beeban Kidron directed Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which is the 2004 sequel to the 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary. Kidron is a British director, perhaps best known for directing To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was written by the same writers that wrote the first film: Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies, and Richard Curtis. There are differences between the Fielding novel and the film adaptation, as well as differences between the United States version and the United Kingdom version of the film. For all intents and purposes, I saw the United States version of the film.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason once again stars Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones. We pick up with Jones still in love with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). She is fighting her insecurity, however, and eventually the relationship crumbles because of Jones’ jealousy. To add to the equation of confusion for poor Bridget Jones, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) arrives back on the scene and the pair work together shooting a television show in Thailand. As one comic situation after another take place between the characters, bad becomes worse for Bridget Jones. It’s up to her to gain some confidence and some trust in Mark Darcy if she ever intends to see the truth.
The shocking truth for me was that I enjoyed this sequel a shade more than Bridget Jones’s Diary. I found the film to be funnier, fresher, and better written than the first instalment in the series. The elements of the film that dealt with Bridget Jones’ insecurity were spot-on, for instance, as we get to see her self-destructiveness take over in a more practical and obvious way. Jones truly is her own worst enemy here and it is demonstrated in the mass of emotional problems she gives herself. As she enters into new phases of her life, with new questions that require answers, the character as played by Zellweger enters into new periods of massive insecurity and self-doubt. These are explored with tenderness and a humour that make the situations massively comic and relatable.
There are many problems that people have with the film, obviously. Most of them, from what I could tell, relate to how unfaithful the film is to the novel by Fielding. One point of contention is that the character of Daniel Cleaver, as played by Hugh Grant, is expanded beyond belief in the film version whereas his role is extremely limited in the confines of the novel. Of course, going off on a rant about the futility of book-to-film comparisons isn’t going to be my cup of tea today, but I will venture a guess that watching Hugh Grant being a cad, again with such gleeful self-deprecating precision, will hardly ever be a bad thing, even if it’s “not in the book.”
One of the key differences between Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Diary is that, in the latter, things happen to Bridget and, in the former, Bridget happens to things. Bridget Jones, in the sequel, is a veritable force of chaos to be reckoned with. She is her own worst enemy, now more than ever, and her calamities exist because of her inability to control herself, keep her mouth shut, and mind her manners in key situations. Her insecurity prompts her to act out in all sorts of new ways, which is perfect when one considers her “self-improvement” ideology that filled the first film with so many comic moments. Now, in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, we get to watch an insecure girl feign confidence with the best of them. She’s on top of the world because of Mark Darcy, yet at the same time, it’s the same old Bridget.
Grant is really funny here, too. He’s so good at losing his dignity in this film. It takes some real acting talent to help us remember that he had any to begin with, then to lose it in the ways that he does and play an absolute shameless self-promoter like Daniel Cleaver is just a wonder. It’s truly a funny performance from Grant. Firth, on the other hand, gets to play the straight man again. He does act out in one fight sequence (yes, another fight scene between Cleaver and Darcy, but this one’s better), but for the most part it’s up to Firth’s Darcy to steer the ship.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is not perfect. I could have done without the Thailand trip and the cocaine bust, although I must admit I still found it funny. It’s a sequel that is a shade better than its predecessor in my view, as I found it funnier, fresher, and more compelling to watch than the original. All in all, the Bridget Jones series of films are well worth watching as character studies and generous doses of comic mischief. I can say for certain that I wouldn’t mind seeing a third instalment to this little series. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is recommended for lovers of all things clumsy and funny.
Trailer:
