Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Writers:

Helen Fielding (novel)
Helen Fielding (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's Monday morning, Bridget has woken up with a headache, a hangover and her boss.

Plot:

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Plot Keywords:

Boss | Diary | Lawyer | Single | British

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 29 nominations

Cast

Renée Zellweger	...	Bridget Jones
Gemma Jones	...	Bridget's Mum
Celia Imrie	...	Una Alconbury
James Faulkner	...	Uncle Geoffrey
Jim Broadbent	...	Bridget's Dad
Colin Firth	...	Mark Darcy
Charmian May	...	Mrs. Darcy
Hugh Grant	...	Daniel Cleaver
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Fitzherbert
Felicity Montagu	...	Perpetua
Shirley Henderson	...	Jude
Sally Phillips	...	Shazza
James Callis	...	Tom
Charlie Caine	...	Handsome Stranger
Gareth Marks	...	Simon in Marketing

Also Known As:

Bridget Jones (UK) (informal title)
Le journal de Bridget Jones (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:18SX | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (cut) | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 (cut) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R (certificate #38033)

Filming Locations:

Borough Market, Borough, London, England, UK

Company:

Little Bird

Trivia:

Director Sharon Maguire was the real-life inspiration for the character of Shazza in the novel. A friend of Helen Fielding's, her name also appears on the acknowledgements page of the book.

Goofs:

Continuity: When we first see Bridget writing in her diary, listing the type of person she's not going to get involved with (with narration), she is writing on the left-hand page. In the next shot, she is at the bottom of the right-hand page.

Quotes:

Interviewer: What do you think about the El Nino phenomenon?
Bridget: It's a blip. Latin music's on its way out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

Quality!

What made this film work? What made this film break the usual British romantic conventional route? One actress! Her name is Renee Zellwegger, seriously, if the actress was British, this film would've been -'been there, done that'. Instead, this clever casting has made Bridget Jones a wonderful little picture.

Renee Zellwegger is an actress who changed to suit the screenplay, now that is ACTING! Her mannerisms, her weight, her enthusiasm and cutesy style are a wonder to behold.

Colin Firth does a great job, he plays his role well, a future James Bond perhaps? Hugh Grant finally gives us something different, he was actually quite funny at times.

Maguire as the director handles the proceedings extremely well, this is her debut and I think she will become quite successful with small films. The Super35 wide-screen frame is used well, bravo! The screenplay is lightweight, but written well, plenty of ad-lib and spontaneity transcend the script.

As a male, sit back and have a laugh. Quality!