Book by Helen Fielding (1996)
Film directed by Sharon Maguire (2001)

Kimberly Nichols | Contributor

In honor of Valentine’s Day this week, I thought I’d revisit one of the great fictional female characters to emerge in the last 15 years, lovelorn singleton Bridget Jones. (I also thought it would be a great excuse to dream about, I mean talk about, Colin Firth since he’s most likely on the verge of winning a Best Actor Oscar at the end of the month.)

Author Helen Fielding dreamed up our Ms. Jones for an ongoing column in Britain’s The Independent in 1995. The popularity of a 30-something single woman and her friends trying to figure out life and love led to the successful publishing of two novels, Bridget Jones’ Diary (1996) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (1999).

When we meet Bridget, she is (gasp!) 32, works in a menial job in publishing and wants to get a proper boyfriend. At the start of a new year, she decides to keep a diary of her efforts to become a new and improved Bridget Jones. Each entry begins with a record of her most bothersome habits, alcohol and cigarette consumption, as well as a daily record of her weight and caloric intake.

Weight: 129 Alcohol: 9 Cigs: 36 Calories: 2300

Both the book and the film follow Bridget’s diary entries for a year, which means they follow her comedic and romantic entanglements. For Bridget is a comic character. She is insecure, overflowing with self-doubt, yet can be misguidedly courageous. She is not grace personified, and this is what makes her such a charming and sympathetic character. As readers or audience members, we alternately cheer her on and then wince when she tries something that can only bring embarrassment and sometimes, heartbreak.

In her diary, Bridget writes about her dreams, disappointments, and her attempts to achieve her goal of self-improvement all in beautiful, somewhat salty, Bridget-ese. Best friends, Shazzer, Jude and Tom keep her afloat when her love life, or lack of one, overwhelms her. Bridget’s parents, their contemporaries, and “smug married couples” try their best to match up Bridget with Mr. Right. As for romance, Bridget begins an affair with her boss, Daniel Cleaver, who is a cad, albeit an irresistible one. Well, Daniel thinks it’s an affair. Our Ms. Jones assumes it’s a relationship. More juicy diary material. During all of these escapades, Bridget keeps crossing paths with the son of her parent’s friends, Mark Darcy. Each time Mark and Bridget meet, they annoy each other and yet…

The casting of Texan Renee Zellweger caused quite a stir, but Zellweger is an excellent Bridget Jones. She bumbles, stumbles, and ultimately triumphs as she takes charge of her life. Hugh Grant perfectly portrays the evil heartbreaker Daniel Cleaver, and Colin Firth plays uptight barrister Mark Darcy as tragically tongue-tied by his feelings for Bridget. Firth’s Mark Darcy is a direct homage to Mr. Darcy from PBS’ Pride and Prejudice miniseries (1995) played by, you guessed it, Colin Firth.

The casting and Fielding’s dialogue make the film version of Bridget Jones’ Diary a must-see for romantics and comedy lovers. Most of the book’s major plotlines appear in the film —  Bridget’s new job, the Tarts and Vicars debacle —   but Hollywood couldn’t leave it alone entirely. Grant’s Cleaver appears again near the end of the film apparently just so there could be a fistfight between his character and Firth’s Darcy. This and one (or two, or three) too many musical montages put a damper on the fun, but still Bridget’s antics save the film from these overused romantic comedy touches.

Laughs: 20+ Aws: 9 Hits too close to home: 4 (Ouch.)

Kimberly Nichols contributes articles on books/film adaptations and food topics. She can be reached at: kmn007@gmail.com, on twitter at: Knic or via her blog at: kimsculinarydiary.blogspot.com/.