Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) Film Review

The Bridget Jones series is an interesting beast because it's forever been riddled with controversy surrounding its titular character's actress, Renée Zellweger. When the time came for the literary character to be brought to life for 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary, the public was baffled by the casting of an American to play an English woman, yet after the release of the film she actually ended up with an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (losing to Halle Berry in Monster's Ball), and the film itself ended up with a slew of award nominations. And while its 2004 sequel – Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason – wasn't quite as well-received it still earned a good amount at the worldwide box office. Move forward a decade later, and the spotlight has been turned to Zellweger again because of her difference in appearance, sparking a controversial editorial by a writer for Variety and a written response from the actress herself. But whilst poor Zellweger has been thrown into a social media mess over the simple effects of ageing, this third entry to the franchise has been embraced – especially in the UK, but not so much by the absent Hugh Grant – and reviews have been positive for this return. But is it just business as usual for the series, and the nostalgia of the past keeping it afloat?  

The last we heard from Bridget Jones, dear lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) had proposed to her with the inclination that the two had finally gotten their happily ever after. But as we see during her 43rd birthday, things haven't entirely gone her way. The two have broken up, and she's back to being a simple singleton; working backstage on a news show and keeping herself occupied with the likes of exercise. She decides that, as a celebration of her age and status, she should try and find fulfilment in life, so she joins best friend and news anchor Miranda (Sarah Solemani) to Glastonbury. It's there that she meets the dashing American Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey) – a mathematician who believes he's worked out an algorithm for finding your true love – and the two inevitably find themselves going at it. But less than a week later, Bridget rekindles with Darcy for a night, before deciding against pursuing him once again. But as expected, things don't work out her way, as she ends up (surprise surprise!) pregnant with no idea which one of her suitors the father is. Thus begins a series of events in which she wins over the two men and figure out which would be best for her and her baby – let alone which one the father actually is. 

As a basic plot goes, it's quite standard. Woman sleeps with two men, gets pregnant, tries to keep secret and tries to confront men about it. Add a minor subplot about the workplace being in the midst of a major overhaul by a young and trendy boss (Kaye O'Flynn), and it's a fine enough venture for a continuation of Bridget's story. But thanks to a well-written and occasionally funny screenplay by creator Helen Fielding, actress Emma Thompson (who also has a role as Jones' doctor) and Dirty Grandpa director Dan Mazer, it makes for a more worthwhile experience than one would have expected. While a number of elements are repeated for the sake of making little nods or keeping to conventions – the infamous fighting sequences between the two men, likely to the dismay of some, is limited to verbal comments – and a number of potential interactions with co-stars are squandered for the sake of focusing on the A-plot, it doesn't stop Bridget Jones's Baby from being an entertaining experience, albeit one that doesn't feel all that new.  

In her first role in six years (if you exclude The Whole Truth), Renée Zellweger does a great job at returning to the role that made her a household name. It's clear that she still has a knack as a comedic actress, but she still manages to give it her all during the more sombre moments and continues to sizzle with chemistry with her male co-stars. Colin Firth, having come out of this series a Best Actor winner for The King's Speech, is amusing to watch because he's back in the role of love interest, but he too manages to get back into the role well enough and brings about a different side to things than rival Patrick Dempsey. Dempsey offers a different character to that of the womanising Daniel Cleaver (Grant), and brings about an utterly charming and charismatic persona that instantly wins over any trepidatious viewers, and actually comes across as an arguably better suitor than Firth. Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent as Bridget's parents bring some heartfelt moments when they aren't vouching for a seat in the local government (insert minor commentary on the acceptance of different nationalities and sexualities); James Callis and Sally Phillips as two of her friends make minor but worthwhile appearances; Shirley Henderson not so much; Celia Imrie is wasted in a small role; Sarah Solemani is more often than not an engaging character who's involvement diminishes with each act; Kaye O'Flynn makes for a poor antagonist, and Emma Thompson steals every scene she's in. 

Returning to the director's chair after missing out on The Edge of Reason, Sharon Maguire brings a good sense of ease to the proceedings, and with a clear rapport with the actors to boot. Being friends with creator Fielding certainly helps with getting a good idea of what she'd deem suitable for the feature adaptation. Add some unremarkable cinematography by Andrew Dunn (Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Lady in the Van) and a poor attempt at a CGI landscape – plus a moment of editing which looks like it was pulled directly from the film's marketing campaign – and you have a visually okay movie. 

Bridget Jones's Baby may not feel like the most original or visually engaging film – hell, it's probably not the most original Bridget Jones movie – but with a strong cast of characters and a funny-enough script, it makes the welcome return of Bridget and company a good enough experience that still leaves the door open for future instalments (if there's anywhere for the character to actually go from here). 6/10.