I love all things Pride and Prejudice, including Bridget Jones. I loved Bridget Jones Diary, Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason, and Bridget Jones's Baby. Even with the somewhat negative reviews of that last movie, I still loved it. So, I expected to also love Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Sadly, I had mixed feelings.
Review:
Set four years after Mark Darcy's untimely death in Sudan, we find Bridget working to navigate life as a single mother to two littles, returning to work, and dating as a widow. This installment deviates from the previous three because it's not about Bridget finding love, as much as it is about how she lives her life again after a loss.
The movie is slow. It spends time looking inside Bridget's life with her son and daughter, learning about her normal without Mark Darcy. We learn about her friends, how she celebrates Mark's life, and how Mark is still alive in her family. We even seen Mark, still with her in spirit, and learn how she handles that.
As the story ramps up, she meets two new romantic interests, Roxster, a younger man, and Scott, her son's teacher. This is where they start to lose me because I am a Mark Darcy fan through and through. For me, Mark Darcy is half the story and without him, it doesn't much work. Also, I expect that a Bridget Jones movies will be about love, it wouldn't be Bridget Jones otherwise, but both of the romances in this movie feel rushed because as I mentioned before, this installment isn't really about finding love; she's done that. Rather, love is just one piece of the larger picture.
But since the story ventures into romance, I'll say that I found the romances that do exist to be flat. Bridget's romance with Roxster is more of a montage than it is a fully fleshed out relationship. Her romance with Scott is rushed into the end of the movie, but viewers are left with the impression he and Bridget have a relationship since he's still there the following New Years Eve. Neither men is Mark Darcy, but I think that's the point.
Ultimately, the movie is nostalgic. We see her friends and cast from the previous movies, including Daniel Clever who we learn is now a family friend. Overall, it does a very nice job of navigating grief, but it does have it's sad moments. Bridget's navigating her life as a widow with grace and, though there are bumps in the road, she's holding her head up and moving forward with her life.
Rating:
❤❤❤ - It was okay, but I wouldn't say I loved it. Still, worth a watch, especially if you love Bridget Jones like I do.
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