I choose Vodka and Chaka Khan (Bridget Jones's Diary (DVD))

Member Name: Coxy1974

Product:	Bridget Jones's Diary (DVD)
Date:	11/04/07 (708 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plot, production, acting - I could go on

Disadvantages: None

Bridget Jones’ Diary has to be one of my very favourite films in recent years. I first saw this when it came out on the cinema but I had read the book a few years before.

Cast

Renee Zellwegger - Bridget
Jim Broadbent – Bridgets Dad
Hugh Grant – Daniel Cleaver
Colin Firth – Mark Darcy

History

Helen Fielding wrote Bridget Jones as a column in the Independent newspaper and in 1996 the first of 2 books was born. The book follows Bridget and her various trials and tribulations and bears striking similarities to Pride and Prejudice. In fact, I think I remember reading somewhere that it is loosely based on this book.

In 2000 I remember reading with fascination that they were making the book into a film and that Texan born Renee was to play middle-class English Bridget. ‘You’re kidding me’ was my first thought and the article was very much phrased with the same disbelief. Add to this the fact that Renee is famed for her very slim physique and Bridget is definitely not slim and the disbelief turned to an ‘Oh no – they’re going to ruin another book’. I’d seen this done before with Flowers in the Attic when they turned that into a film. Anyway onto the story line

Story

The film opens as Bridget is alighting from a taxi to attend her mothers Turkey Curry Buffet. Her mother is slightly neurotic and a bit of an airhead, she immediately tells Bridget to go and change into ‘Something lovely I’ve laid out on your bed’ as she believes she looks as though Bridget has just walked out of Outfit.

This is where Bridget then re-appears in something resembling tweed curtains sewn together and is introduced to Mark Darcy, who is wearing a reindeer jumper his mother got him for Christmas.

Their first meeting does not go down very well as Bridget, as usual, fluffs her way through speaking to him and he is equally not impressed with her.

Bridget has made several new years resolutions - give up smoking, drink less alcohol and lose weight. Renee actually put on weight to play Bridget.

Bridget is enamoured with her boss Daniel Cleaver – cue Hugh Grant at his foppish, charming best playing the slimy Daniel. After he makes advances and some office flirting by email they finally get it together after Bridget makes a fool of herself at a book launch.

Daniel and Mark hate each other. Their history is that they were very good friends at Cambridge and Daniel was Marks best man but then he slept with Marks wife and you’d forgive Mark for being a little peeved at that.

Various drunken shenanigans happen for Bridget and Daniel leaves Bridget to attend the Tarts and Vicars party because of a crisis at the office. Afterwards Bridget goes round to Daniels and finds him there with a naked woman in his bathroom. Add to this that Bridgets parent have split up and her mother has run off with Julian from the Shopping Channel and you really do feel for the character.

Things right themselves in the end though. Mark Darcy tells her he likes her ‘just as she is’ and turns up at her birthday party as she cooks blue soup for her friends. Daniel turns up and ruins it all resulting in Mark ordering him outside and the famous fight scene ensues.

Christmas time again and Bridget is home with her Dad. Will there be happy ending? Will Bridget get her man? Watch the film and find out.

Best bits

The film has many comic moments but some of the best ones for me are

Tom – who is a one hit chart wonder being approached in a restaurant by an elderly gentleman.

Old man – “Excuse me….”
Tom – “Yes it is me, no plans to record anything else….”
Old man – (perplexed) “No it’s just that your chair is on my wifes coat”

Fight scene

Mark and Daniel stopping fighting in the restaurant opposite Bridgets flat because someones birthday cake is being brought out. They stop fighting to sing happy birthday and then resume fighting once they’ve finished.

Also Tom bursting through the restaurant doors to shout to the Italian waiters “Fight, there’s a real fight!” in a very camp voice.

Bridget missing the interview of a lifetime because she needed fags from the offy only to get the interview because Mark was the lawyer who won the case.

Bridget sliding down the firemans pole with completely the wrong clothing on and exposing her arse on national tv.

Daniel trying to swap boats on a lake whilst reciting a dirty poem that goes something like this

“There was a young woman from Ealing, who had a peculiar feeling. She laid on her back, opened her crack and pissed all over the ceiling”

And then fell face first into the water between the 2 boats.

But the best bit for me is when she gets another job and tells Daniel she is leaving. He says that for various reasons she may have been overlooked and it’s clear that he wants her to stay.

Bridgets response – “Quite frankly, if staying here meant working within 10 feet of you then I’d rather have a job wiping Saddam Husseins arse” and picks up her bags and walks out with her head held high.

These bits make me cry with laughter.

Summary

In essence this is a very good, feel good chick flick. The ending always makes me cry but that’s because I’m a soppy person at heart.

Having read the book beforehand I felt that the film could never live up to that but it did in many ways, not least because of the way Renee excelled at playing Bridget. What a surprise that was and she certainly showed her critics that she was more than competent. You really believed she was the character that Helen had created and maybe some of that was down to the fact that Helen was the Executive Producer and also wrote the screenplay along with Richard Curtis & Andrew Davies.

The acting from every cast member was in keeping with each character as you imagine in the book. One actor really stood head and shoulders above all for me and that was Jim Broadbent as Birdgets dad. He played the character with perfect comic timing and conveyed such emotion when his wife left him but still with the comedy value delivering such lines as 'He's practically orange' about Julian whom she has run off with.

The soundtrack to the film is excellent too with tracks from Gabriel, Chaka Khan, Andy Williams and Marvin Gaye duetting with Diana Ross.

The film runs for just over an hour and a half so it's not too long but the film flows quickly without losing any of the book content so it really doesn't feel as though you have been watching for that amount of time.

The similarities between this film (the book) and Pride and Prejudice were striking in the respect that you could place each character.

Bridget Jones’ Diary is available on DVD for £14.49 at Amazon.

Summary: If you're gonna make a movie from a book take a lessen from this adaptation