Let’s talk about Bridget Jones’s Mad About the Boy, the fourth installment in the beloved Bridget Jones franchise, available on Peacock. And let’s be honest, sometimes you watch a movie and just whisper (or shout) to yourself, “What was the point?!”
I love Bridget Jones. The character Bridget Jones is one of those characters that is loved and was super relatable. I wasn’t mad about a fourth installment thinking we would get the funny Jones we love and with a new story that is new and fresh. Mad About the Boy seems less like a genuine sequel and more like lazy writing. With a capital L.
The premise? Bridget must learn to manage her existence as both a single mother and a widow. Okay, I’m listening. But the execution? Predictable. The story becomes completely apparent to viewers from its initial moments. Spoiler alert: she starts dating a much younger man. In rom-com land we know exactly how this kind of plot development will play out. This story offers nothing new and unfolds with predictable events that follow the well-worn trope to its expected conclusion.
The film attempts to present Bridget’s relationship as an empowering “baby girl” moment yet fails to deliver. The film lacks sincerity and authenticity while failing to present a feminist perspective. Mostly, it just feels…unnecessary.
And the humor? Where was it? I didn’t laugh. Not even a chuckle. The movie repeats familiar comedic elements from earlier Bridget Jones films yet they come across as worn and redundant. Like she didn’t evolve at all with age or motherhood. Despite Renee Zellweger’s magnetic appeal she fails to rescue this film. She’s amazing and captures the essence of Bridget Jones yet lacks new material to work with. The performance feels like a gifted actor attempting to animate a flat cardboard figure.
Bridget Jones’s Mad About the Boy represents an unfulfilled potential of what could have been. The story could have provided meaningful humor while following Bridget’s experience of being both a single mother and a widow trying to find new love. The film presents a story that lacks creativity and meaning.
My score of 2 out of 5 stars reflects my appreciation for the character.
