Our messy rom-com fave is back and ready to make us cry
Valentine’s day is rough when you’re single but here are some rom-coms that make it easy. One of those franchise has always been the Bridget Jones movies. This Valentine’s day though, you can head back into her love life and it is the comfort you need as a singleton!
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is the fourth installment in the franchise and tells the devastating story of Bridget Darcy (Renée Zellweger) as a newly single mother of two after Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) dies while on a humanitarian trip. It is Bridget as we knew her back in Bridget Jones’ Diary but it is also sad because we have to watch her struggle to move on from the love of her life.
Mad About the Boy follows a similar plot to the book but Bridget is bouncing back and forth between Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Roxster (Leo Woodall) instead of Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). Daniel is in the movie and he plays an “uncle” role to Mark and Bridget’s two children but her real love story is between Ejiofor and Woodall.
It is the typical Bridget Jones vibe. She starts making mistakes by being Bridget about her dates, ends up with a sweet man with the loose ends all tied up. That’s why we come to a Bridget Jones story. But this one will have a special spot in the hearts of fans because, unlike the Bridget stories before it, it has that emotional tie back to Bridget and Mark’s love story that makes it a heartbreaking watch.
Bridget Jones is still our messy rom-com queen
One thing that I always found relatable about Bridget Jones is that she is someone who doesn’t really have her life figured out. It is why her relationship with Mark always worked. He took over and controlled the things she couldn’t and he allowed her to bring him joy and excitement. While we’re getting a cute love story between Roxster, Mr. Wallaker, and Bridget, the movie is still rooted in the loss of Mark in Bridget’s life.
But she has the issues that our Bridget always has. She’s crying on her couch, she’s struggling with dating apps, and she’s often messy in appearance. At one point, her hair is literally still knotted from the night before. That is why we turn into a Bridget Jones movie.
I cried over Bridget thinking about Mark, I’ve thought about how Bridget Jones would spend her Valentine’s day alone like I was, and it made me realize how much I’ve missed Jones and her world. It was a cute movie overall and Mad About the Boy is sweet even if I don’t think we needed to kill Mark Darcy to make that happen. But getting to see her still coping with being single and finding her own happiness is relatable.
So, if you’re looking to share your Valentine’s night with our favorite lonely girl and scream sing “All By Myself,” Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is well worth it.
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