Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Review: A Witty Warm Finale

Bridget Jones is back, and she’s bringing all the charm, chaos, and sharp wit we’ve missed. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy marks the fourth installment in the beloved series, serving up a delightful mix of humor, heart, and self-discovery. Directed by Michael Morris and penned by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, and Abi Morgan, this latest chapter finds Bridget (Renée Zellweger) in her early 50s, juggling single motherhood, grief, and the daunting prospect of re-entering the dating scene. Be prepared for tender and Tinder moments.

Following the heartbreaking loss of her great love, husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), who’s killed while on a human rights mission in Sudan, Bridget has spent four years wrapped up in mourning, raising her two kids, studious Billy (Casper Knopf) and rebellious Mabel (Mila Jankovic) while keeping romance and career ambitions firmly on the back burner. But life has other plans. Enter Roxster (Leo Woodall), a charming 29-year-old biologist/park ranger who sparks a long-dormant sense of adventure, along with the reserved yet intriguing Mr Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), her son’s science teacher, cast in the Darcy mould, who challenges her in unexpected ways. One of the best scenes of the film has Bridget and Wallaker sharing a poignant moment talking about life while out on a children’s field trip.

True to form, the film delivers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments but with a dash of sobriety thrown in. Hugh Grant’s ever-rakish Daniel Cleaver is shown to have a mellow side where he confesses to having never met his Italian son. Never mind the fact that he loves to teach Billy and Mabel fancy cocktails – his favourite being Dirty Bitch – while babysitting them. The director extends Clearver’s redemption of sorts by introducing us to the said son, a teenager who seems to cut from the same cloth as his father. Emma Thompson also returns as the straight-talking Dr Rawlings, ensuring that even the most heartfelt moments come with a side of razor-sharp humor. There’s a depth to this story—one that embraces grief, reinvention, and the joys (and pitfalls) of finding love in midlife. Bridget is a cougar without the adjacent flaws. But Roxster is no dishy lamb to the slaughter, he ghosts her when he realises her real age. You can see why they can’t be a couple in the long run but you also have no problem with them indulging in a fling because their attraction looks genuine and not forced. Of course, Bridget being well, Bridget, she’s shown to drool over the bodies of both the men, but it’s also shown that she’s on the lookout for something deeper this time around.

With its sharp situational comedy, touching romance, and plenty of feel-good moments, Mad About the Boy is the kind of film that keeps a smile on your face from start to finish. Bridget’s journey is as relatable as ever, proving that life’s twists and turns, no matter how unexpected, are best faced with a sense of humor, a killer playlist, and old friends, not to mention hugeass bloomers – old fashioned, but comfortable as hell. Renee Zellweger is in crushing form and so is everyone else really. They have all grown comfortable acting around each other over all these years and the camaraderie shows through. It was great to see almost all the cast members coming in for cameos. The film ends with a show reel of the best moments from the previous three films, giving it a sense of ending, a final goodbye of sorts…Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy is a romantic comedy. Continue reading …Read More