By Liz Lopez
Rating: B-/C+
For all the Bridget Jones fans, she is back with the third installment of the sequel, Bridget Jones’s Baby, and there are several reasons to laugh, but not entirely through the whole film. After seeing the trailer so many times, I was not quite sure what to expect from the film that appears to have revealed so much of the story, or so I thought. I am glad to report there is some unexpected humor with the script by Emma Thompson, Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, based on characters created by Fielding. Thompson also stars in the film and provides a great performance as the obstetrician, Dr. Rawlings, who tends to the newly 43 year old Bridget (Renée Zellweger) during her pregnancy. One good part of the story involves Bridget in the workplace who may be on the verge of being replaced as one of the producers of the show when the twenty -something new boss, Alice (Kate O’Flynn), takes over and makes huge changes. These two life changes can be quite a challenge in reality and very human, not just for gags in a film.
The film is directed by Sharon Maguire, returning from the 2001 Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Both Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey are great in their roles as Bridget’s love interests right after her birthday and goes on vacation with her friend from work, Miranda (Sarah Solemani), ending up at an outdoor music festival. Both are potentially the “Dad” and at times, their behavior is hysterial or sweet and from Mr. Darcy, quite restrained.
The film also stars Shirley Henderson, Jim Broadbent, Celia Imrie, James Callis, Gemma Jones and Sally Phillips among the comedic cast of characters.
There is plenty of good music from the past such as All By Myself, House of Pain’s Jump Around (and Bridget does so just like a teen), some Burt Bacharach and Marvin Gaye to more current, including Ed Sheeran, Pharrell, and Rihanna, among the many that span throughout the protagonist’s life.
The film has a running time of 122 minutes and arrives in U.S. theaters on September 16th.
Source: Universal Pictures