Occasionally, I do things the wrong way round and see a film before reading the book on which it’s based. In the case of delving into BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, I watched the film, the sequel and the entire 90s series of Pride and Prejudice over and over again long before finally purchasing the book and seeing what all the fuss was about.
From the opening page of the book, written by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones is a brilliantly ‘real’ character unlike any I had ever read and the result is an easy, fun and adorable read. Unlike recent first person stories which have infuriating inner monologues, Bridget is so hilarious and so honest that even when she is moping you want to hug not hit her as she dwells on issues with family, work and, of course, her love life.
What a marvellous creation!
The book is an incredibly witty insight into the pressures of life in your thirties and being single and I cannot figure out why it took me so many years to read the thing! Except perhaps that I needed to be in my thirties to fully appreciate it.
The only let-down in the book was that her happy ending involved a guy which – after a book so consumed with trying to be happy all on your own – seemed a little ridiculous. Though I hear the sequel deals with that ‘happy ending’ rather well…
The film, on the other hand, is a great, silly and enjoyable ride which places much more emphasis on the comedic battle between Daniel (Hugh Grant) and Mark (Colin Firth) than the book does. It doesn’t forget its star, however, and does a brilliant job of portraying an erratic, on-edge and entirely loveable Bridget Jones, thanks to Renée Zellweger’s superb portrayal of the titular character.
The film follows Bridget’s ups and downs with great fun and sincerity. The mad and totally loyal friends are always on hand, as are the interfering mother and doting father – though in the film, their storylines are notably streamlined. The smart, passionate and opinionated friend is reduced to a four-letter-word and Bridget’s mother’s storyline is completely altered. Though Mark Darcy does not appear quite so often in the novel, I don’t think anyone could fault the extended inclusion of Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in the film, especially that infamous fight sequence.
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