Mary Ann
Every year at Christmas when I am wrapping presents or addressing Christmas cards, I watch my favorite Christmas movies – The Holiday, Love Actually, and Bridget Jones’ Diary. I know the stories by heart, so I really don’t miss anything if I must leave the room for more wrapping paper or ribbon. It is kind of my mental comfort food. I look forward to this little tradition of mine each year. It is like visiting old friends, and Bridget Jones is one of my best friends.
I loved the Bridget books by Helen Fielding, and when they made the transition into movies, Renee Zellweger became the real Bridget. It is hard to believe those movies are 25 years old. So, when the new movie, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, recently debuted, I questioned whether an aging Bridget could capture our hearts in the same way she did when she was a younger woman, especially if Colin Firth was not her leading man. Who could forget that passionate kiss at the end of the first movie. I had a little crush on the dashing Englishman in all the movies. Renee Zellweger did indeed take on middle age with the Bridget’s signature vulnerability and sassy grit. Her perky little walk has not changed in the span of the four movies.
In Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Bridget is a widow and is coming out of her depression about losing her beloved Mark Darcy. She now has two children, a boy who is like Mark named Billy, and a daughter, Hazel, who is a mini-Bridget. Bridget, of course, parents like Bridget lives life. Not much upsets her, and the kids seem well-adjusted because they are loved deeply by their mother. So what, if the children have wrinkled clothes for school or that breakfast is a total chaos. Everything in the end works out.
Bridget does find love in this film, but the journey to that love, of course, has its challenges. She becomes a cougar with a summer of love with a young man, Roxter, who helps her come alive again. Returning character Daniel Cleaver played by Hugh Grant remains the charming cad that he is. He is one of Bridget’s babysitters and teaches Billy how to make cocktails. Bridget goes back to work, gets a nanny, and finds herself once again. There is more to her love journey, and that is for you to discovery.
In all the four movies, Bridget’s joy de vie is always there. Her bubbly laugh is infectious, and people envy that. Men find it attractive. I loved seeing her happily jumping on the bed with her children. The children will never remember the chaos but will remember bouncing on the bed and her sweet goodnights to them. At the end of the movie, watch for Billy’s jumper – a sweet memory.
We end with this question – will there be a Bridget Jones in Assisting Living? I think we would still see again her perky steps as she wheels her walker down the hall. Daniel Cleaver would probably be the Don Juan of the retirement community. We will just have to wait to see if this will happen!
Silver Sage Sisters 