Film Review – Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)

To say I’m a cynical, miserable bastard would be putting it lightly. I went into Bridget Jones’s  Baby expecting to role my eyes with boredom so I was pleasantly surprised to laugh from beginning to end.

This charming third Bridget Jones film picks up her story approximately 10 years after her last, somewhat disappointing, sequel. She’s as miserable as ever; single at 43, she feels that life has passed her by. While attending a music festival she drunkenly sleeps with a dashing American millionaire played by Patrick Dempsey. Within the same week she sleeps with her ex, the dashing (probably a millionaire) Brit played by Colin Firth. She becomes pregnant not knowing which gentleman is the father. It’s standard rom-com fare but the script and the performances make this film a real treat.

Renee Zellweger proves once again how funny she can be – she plays Jones so openly and without any hint of vanity that she becomes instantly relatable. The supporting cast are equally likable; both Dempsey and Firth are incredibly charming and funny and the other actors who fill this world do a stunning job of standing out in small roles, Emma Thompson, particularly, as a serious doctor excels.

So rarely is the third in a franchise the best but Bridget Jones’s Baby bucks that trend. Sharon Maguire has returned to direct after missing out the second film and has made a really great British comedy. The one problem I have with it (and this is a problem with many comedies) is that the characters are all so well off that it is hard to care about their personal problems. Jones has a great job and a lovely flat so her worry about which one of the gorgeous gentleman might be her baby’s father seems far from important.

I thorough rally recommend Bridget Jones’s Baby, of you’re a fan of the other films you’ll love it and if you’re a cynical miserable bastard… you’ll probably love it as well.

★★★★1/2|Harry Davenport

Comedy, Romance | UK, 2016 | 15 | Universal Pictures | 16th September 2016 (UK)|Dir.Sharon Maguire | Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Jim Broadbent,Gemma Jones, Sally Phillips