'I have vodka and Chakka Kahn' (Bridget Jones's Diary (DVD))

Member Name: x_elff_x

Product:	Bridget Jones's Diary (DVD)
Date:	11/04/01 (791 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious, brilliant ensemble cast

Disadvantages: Why must they do that horrible S'S thing at the end of Jones?

Weight: Not too heavy, not too light, in fact pretty damn perfect; No. of times fell about laughing: too many to count; No. of times almost swooned at Colin Firth's smouldering: twice; No. of times gay housemate nearly swooned at Colin Firth's smouldering: thrice; No. of times Renee Zellweger failed to convince as English thirtysomething: 0

Bit of a departure for me this, writing a film review, but as I managed to get preview tickets for this and it was so absolutely fantastic I thought it was time to break my duck.

Many of you will be familiar with the phenomenon that is Bridget Jones, but for those of you who aren't I'll briefly go over the basics. Bridget (Zellweger) is a thirtysomething Singleton diarist looking for a man, who becomes caught between two men, her caddish boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and austere-but-smouldering barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).

Her romantic and highly comic dalliances are traced over the course of a year from New Year to New Year and set against the backdrop of her parent's rocky marriage and her three dearest friends.

So, was it any good then? Well, a resounding thumbs up from me. There is nothing more perfect than going to see a film in which you are unsure of the star's capability to pull it off (ie Rene Zelleweger and the English accent) only to discover that not only is it believable, it is brilliant.

From the very first when she sits at home (alone) drinking glass after glass of wine and scranning muesli from the box whilst singing along to 'I can't live if living is without you' she is a total hit.

Rene Zellweger is nothing short of fantastic in this role and, ladies, the best thing about her aside from her acting is the fact that she is such an ordinary shape! I have heard tell that since the film she has become somewhat more obsessed with her body image and has gone on a diet and I want to beg her to STOP. She is so refreshing
ly normal it is wonderful.

Her performance smacks of understatement, as do the performances of the rest of the cast. Hugh Grant proves for the first time in ages that he is actually quite a good actor and manages to turn in a subtle comic performance, blissfully free from foppish hair flicks and characture. Colin Firth is, as ever, brilliant, and in the case of both leading men, neither are over-glamourised (If you look very carefully when they are out on the boating lake you can even see Firth's bald spot).

Hats off too to the supporting cast - featuring screenfuls of well known British faces, from Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent as her parents through to Neil Pearson as a TV producer, this is ensemble playing at its best.

And all credit must go to the director, author Helen Fielding's real life Shazza (Sharon Maguire), here tackling her first film with great aplomb, who never lets her cast slip into caricature. All of the people in this film are totally believable and never overplayed - even Celia Imrie (as Bridget's mum's friend Una) keeps a lid on her Victoria Woodesque exuberance.

If you are wondering whether it differs from the book, then the answer has to be, yes, but not significantly and never to the detriment of the film.

The diary remains a key element of the film and some of her facts and figures are used to good effect near the start. The script too, relies heavily on the original diary, retaining many of the comic lines while adding in some new stuff.

And while, the background information regarding Bridget's close circle of friends Shazza (Smack the Pony's Sally Phillips), Jude (Shirley Henderson) and (in one of the best gay portrayals ever in cinema - according to my gay housemate) Tom (James Callis), their loveliness still shines through.

The ending, too, is a little different from the book, but don't panic, it is still fantastic and will have you totally hook
ed - and don't expect to hear about it from me!

They often say music makes a film and, in this case, it is the perfect foil, never has It's Raining Men been used to such good effect as here, where it accompanies, of all things, a fight scene. Bridget's karaoke moment, too, is priceless.

In conclusion, I can barely fault this film, although there were a couple of snowy moments where the studio lights made rather too many shadows. It is certainly the sweetest (without being schmaltzy), funniest, most endearing film with the most believable characters that I have seen since, well since a long time ago. Go and see it, you won't be disappointed!

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