2008 Woodie Awards
Bridget Jones Fights Men Again
Katie Pederson
Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
|
The Edge of Reason is a continuation of the story of the middle-aged, frumpy British reporter Bridget Jones, played by the hilariously blundering Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain, Chicago). The Edge of Reason picks up four weeks after the 2001 original debut ended, as Bridget thinks she has finally found a potential long-term relationship and mate in the suave lawyer Mark Darcy, as played by the adorable Colin Firth (Love Actually, What a Girl Wants).
As always though, Bridget just can't seem to stay focused or happy, continually floundering at Darcy's high-class society functions, finally accusing him of having an affair with his attractive lawyer partner Rebecca, the angelic face of actress Jacinda Barrett (Ladder 49, Urban Legends). Their minor scuffle escalates and Bridget breaks off the relationship, only to find herself now continually paired at work on assignment with her former lover, the loveable yet adulterous Daniel Cleaver, played by bad-boy Hugh Grant (Notting Hill, 9 Months). There then arises a series of unfortunate events as Bridget is continually wooed by both men, caught in the midst of a drug smuggling scandal, and placed in a third-world prison where she teachers her inmates to sing "Like A Virgin" in true Jones fashion. In the end, Bridget will have to decide if her inadequacies and awkwardness are enough to keep her from the life of love of which she has always dreamed (and written in her journal).
The Edge of Reason is a good humored, slapstick, joyride of emotions typical of the original film that depicted the life of the rather plump and unattractive Bridget. Some have hailed it "better then the original," but I personally think that The Edge of Reason lacks the spontaneity and general newness that Bridget Jones's Diary brought to the screen. The concepts are the same, and true to its namesake there is a new diary with new debacles, enticing twists, an additional Firth-Grant brawl, and all the bawdiness that a Bridget Jones tale promises. Yet I felt that The Edge of Reason is only a shadow of the 2001 original, following meekly in the footsteps of several other British comedy-drama-romances of the same making made since the original debuted (think Love Actually).
Regardless, The Edge of Reason offers one of the best laughs of the season. This sequel is a definite movie date must, lewd enough to keep the men enticed, yet sweet enough to cure any holiday blues. The Edge of Reason leaves women of all shapes and sizes exiting theatres identifying with the main character and her woes, though perhaps not to their "Hollywood-ized" extremes.