‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ delivers on sentiment and laugh-out-loud comedy
Bridget and Mark are back in the comedy about everyone’s favorite hot mess. It’s been 12 years since we’ve last seen Bridget, Mark, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Jude, Tom, and Shazza, and though they’ve all aged a bit and gone on to have adorable families, the humor and crude jokes remain the same.
This time around, Bridget is single again, still writing in her diary, which is now an iPad, and feeling down on her luck because she is the last single and childless friend in her group. Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant in the 2001 and 2004 movies, has since been replaced by a new love interest, McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey.
Bridget first meets Dempsey’s character, Jack Qwant, at a music festival she attends with a coworker, Miranda. In true Bridget style, she wears all white and falls, face first, into a pile of mud. After spending the night with Jack, Bridget leaves early and attempts to meet up with Miranda, who was busy getting drunk with musician Ed Sheeran.
Bridget leaves Jack because she is still upset about her breakup with Mark Darcy. They were together for so long and she had such deep feelings for him that she doesn’t want to jump into a new relationship with Jack right away. As luck would have it, a few days later at a friend’s party, she winds up spending the night with Mark as well.
When Bridget finds out she is pregnant, she panics because she doesn’t know who the father is. The audience sees Bridget up to her usual antics of babbling nervously, asking her OB/GYN for unusual favors, and using her connections as a television producer to find out more about Jack. Seeing Bridget act like she did in the first two movies offers the audience, especially old fans, a dose of nostalgia that is sure not to disappoint.
Mark’s wit and dry humor still make welcome appearances, and Jack’s sense of entitlement is annoying yet humorous. Both men mean well and clearly want the best for Bridget. Even though they don’t know who the father is, Mark and Jack do everything in their power to help Bridget and the baby throughout the pregnancy.
Chivalry is still very present in this film, even more so than in the previous two movies. In the past, audiences saw moments like Mark surprising Bridget at her apartment during a snowstorm and Daniel taking her on romantic getaways. However, this time around, caring for a very pregnant Bridget becomes the most romantic gesture of all. Mark, for example, carries Bridget to the hospital when there is a Women’s Rights March in the city blocking traffic. Jack helps baby-proof Bridget’s house, and both men stay by her side when she gives birth.
The degree of compassion in “Bridget Jones’s Baby” is what sets it apart from the previous two movies. When both men receive the news that they might be a father, a protective switch turns on in their heads that drives them to do anything to keep Bridget and the baby happy and healthy. With that, audiences are left with the kind of sweet sentiment they have come to expect from “Bridget Jones” movies, but with an all-new perspective on life, responsibility, and growing up.
