Bridget Jones's Diary

As brought to life by Renée Zellweger (in a convincing English accent), Bridget Jones--that Everywoman icon of romantically frustrated "singletons"--is the consummate modern amour-neurotic. Always looking for love, sometimes willing to settle for sex, and forever psychoanalyzing (and second-guessing) herself, she's just as adorable and endearing as she was in Jerry Maguire, but with several more tarnished years of romantic disappointment weighing on her attitude. Based on Helen Fielding's best-selling novel of the same name, Bridget Jones's Diary  has a Four Weddings and a Funeral/Notting Hill flavor to it (Hugh Grant even co-stars as a cad who romances Bridget), but first-time director Sharon Maguire knows enough to follow her heroine's heart and diary-narration to find the movie's unique voice. General audiences will love this winsome romantic comedy, while literary fans will enjoy the pointed links to the inspirational source material: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (best in-joke: Colin Firth, who plays the misunderstood love interest Darcy here, also played the misunderstood love interest Darcy in A&E's acclaimed miniseries adaptation of Austen's classic). Enthusiastically recommended. (R. Blackwelder)DVD Review--November 16, 2004--Miramax, 98 min., R, $19.99--Making its second appearance on DVD, Bridget Jones's Diary: Collector's Series combines older bonuses from the original DVD release with new extras in this edition timed to coincide with the release of the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. DVD extras include audio commentary by director Sharon Maguire (old), the eight-minute featurette “The Young and the Mateless: An Expert's Guide to Being Single,” the seven-minute featurette on the film's popularity “The Bridget Phenomenon,” a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette (old), the five-minute segment on Graham Johnston “Portrait of the Makeup Artist,” seven deleted scenes (12 min., old), 100-plus of Helen Fielding's original “Bridget Jones's Diary” columns from The Independent and The Daily Telegraph (from 1995-98), the two-minute glossary featurette “A Guide to Bridget Britishisms,” five text reviews (by critics including Roger Ebert and Peter Travers), TV spots, and trailers (including a trailer for the new sequel). Bottom line: while there's nothing really substantive in the added extras, the price of the “collector's series” edition is identical to the price of the original. If you already own the first, there's no reason to upgrade; if you don't, this is the one to buy.][Blu-ray Review—July 19, 2011—Lionsgate, 98 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2001's Bridget Jones's Diary features a decent transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras are identical to those on the standard DVD release, including audio commentary by director Sharon Maguire, seven deleted scenes (12 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (10 min.), additional featurettes “The Young and the Mateless: An Expert's Guide to Being Single” (8 min.) and “The Bridget Phenomenon” (7 min.), a “Portrait of the Makeup Artist” segment on chief makeup designer Graham Johnston (5 min.), “A Guide to Bridget Britishisms” glossary (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for this winning rom-com.]