Twenty-four years and two sequels after Renée Zellweger first charmed audiences as Bridget Jones (earning a rare Oscar nomination for a comedy performance), she’s back for the fourth installment, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Now in her 50s, Bridget is a widow struggling to move forward four years after the love of her life passed away. I’m sure not many who saw the 2001 film in cinemas expected to see this character—once a naive young woman who mistakenly dressed as a sexy bunny to a party—at 50, navigating life as a single mother of two. And even fewer would have expected the result to remain so heartfelt while still lovely and charming.
In the movie industry, sequels often become easy cash grabs, with little effort put into justifying their existence. Characters disappear between movies due to the studio and actors struggling to come to an understanding regarding payment, and franchises struggle to evolve, often retreating to the same plot, especially in comedy sequels. One thing Mad About the Boy gets right is that it finds a way to reinvent Bridget while still feeling like Bridget Jones. It gives the film a reason to exist beyond nostalgia, placing her in new, believable situations while capturing the magic of the old ones. In adapting Helen Fielding’s novel (co-written for the screen by Fielding alongside Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan), the film may not be perfect, but as a sequel, it’s about the best one could hope for.
The first 20 minutes carefully transition from what came before, filled with relevant cameos that catch the audience up on where Bridget is in life. It sets the stage for a new adventure, allowing the film to explore fresh ground. Another major strength is how it ages the humor itself. The original film leaned into young adult humor, while Mad About the Boy smoothly transitions into “wine mom” comedy. Now Bridget sends the wrong emojis, struggles with raising her now-grown kids, but still doesn’t know what to wear. This balance between respecting the past while pushing forward is something many franchises should take note of. (The only unfortunate break in continuity is the lack of Craig Armstrong’s beautiful piano theme from Bridget Jones’s Baby.)
A bunch of actors return for guest appearances, but their presence is always justified. The only one that feels slightly forced is Emma Thompson, but even she jokes twice about how she shouldn’t be there. And it makes for a good laugh—Thompson is always a good addition.
As a film, rather than just a sequel, Mad About the Boy is not perfect and sits behind the first and third installments. The production feels smaller, and the plot is overly episodic. The “boy” in the title doesn’t fit into the plot as well as previous love interests, and the lack of conflict in the love triangle is noticeable. While the story is good, the script itself is often serviceable only. Scenes like the classroom debate about the soul of a fruit fly or the joke about people noticing Bridget just had sex could have been written with more wit. Even the more emotional dialogues involving Bridget’s son and Bridget’s inner thoughts could have used more polish.
But even when individual scenes aren’t great, Renée Zellweger is always there, elevating every single line. She effectively portrays that the character has continued evolving and growing, and she’s still one of the most convincing Americans playing British in cinema. Her facial expressions are still funny, and she still perfectly blends insecurity with conviction. She fully melts your heart in the film’s more emotional moments and once again proves she should be doing more movies instead of appearing once every blue moon.
The rest of the cast is solid. Hugh Grant is basically playing the old Hugh Grant character we have been seeing from him lately, but he’s still extremely fun while adding a vulnerable side this time around. Chiwetel Ejiofor can be a little boring, and his nerdiness isn’t as amusing as Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy was. Still, Leo Woodall is solid, making his character’s motivations toward Bridget convincing and understandable.
On the whole, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is both a touching and hilarious return to the beloved character. It does what great sequels should: justifying its existence by taking its characters to new places while still respecting its roots. Renée Zellweger is once again fantastic in the role, delivering a heartfelt, charismatic performance that makes every moment she’s on screen feel effortlessly engaging. As a wine mom comedy, it’s one of the most enjoyable and well-executed in recent years. Now, it’s hard to imagine where the stories can go from here. However, if they continue smartly progressing Bridget’s character and Zellweger is still up for it, I’d happily watch her navigating romance even in an elderly home, 30 years from now.