ROVIN'
AND RAVIN' WITH MIKE
Copyright © 2001 by
Michael Segers, All rights reserved
Bridget Jones's Diary
Cast:
Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth,
Hugh Grant, Honor Blackman,
Crispin Bonham-Carter, Jim Broadbent,
James Callis, Embeth Davidtz,
Shirley Henderson, Celia Imrie,
Gemma Jones, Sally Phillips
Directed by Sharon Maguire
Written by Richard Curtis and Andrew Davies
MPAA: Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.
Information from the Internet Movie Database
This is another
film based on a novel with a sort of cult status, somewhat like Wonderboys, which,
nonetheless, can stand on its own even for a reviewer (such as I) who has never
read the book. In fact, I might be more receptive to the charms of this
film because I'm not comparing them to the charms of a favorite novel.
The best news about this very good film (gee, it feels
so good to be able to write that again) is Renée Zellweger (gee, it feels very
good to be able to write that again). Besides her expected talents and
natural appeal, a sort of sex-less apeal, Zellweger brings about twenty extra
pounds to this story of an overweight, under appreciated British lass (Zellweger,
despite her accent in this, hails from Texas) seeking men and avoiding
dogs. The truth is, most of the men she has ended up with have proven to
be rather canine in the long run.
At the time of the film, her attention is divided
between her old friend Mark Darcy (Firth) and her boss Daniel Cleaver (Grant,
playing Grant, Hugh not Cary), just about as opposite as two men can be.
Ironically, although I found myself booing Cleaver, I felt poor Darcy just
didn't have what it takes to win the fair, flabby lady.
No matter what, I found myself constantly cheering on
Jones as character and Zellweger as actress. I just recently saw Nurse
Betty again and gained even more appreciation for what Zellweger did in that
film. She has a depth of sheer ordinariness that allows her to be
comfortable with extreme characterizations. She can pull these things off
because she pulls us along. Well, she was brave enough to be half of an
item with Jim Carrey for a while, so I guess if she hadn't already known, she
had to learn fast how to keep her feet on the ground.
While it is all Zellweger's show, I did feel a little
uncomfortable with so much comic effect depending upon her showing so much of
her excess flesh. Do we really need to see her in her leopard
panties? No our Betty... uh, Bridget... Oh, heck, Renée, keep your
britches on.
I can imagine that there will be some discussion
and outright dissing of the whole attitude toward women in this film. Yes,
modern women should be more advanced, unafraid to be alone. But, this is
romantic comedy, and the denizens of such efforts have always been about a
generation behind their times; I suspect that single young career women (and men
also) worry more about sexually transmitted diseases than about being eaten by
dogs. This diary is not a bit of sociological documentary but of
rollicking good fun.
It has been a while since I have called your attention
to the pleasures of Rotten Tomatoes,
so on a week when I have a film to celebrate, let me commend to you once again
this always intriguing collection of pros and cons and very good prose about the
movies. Keep your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, and if you
must wear leopard skin underwear, keep it to yourself.