‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’: Renée Zellweger Returns For a Final Lovable Chapter in Bridget Jones’ Diary

Sandra Miska

Renée Zellweger returns to her signature role with gusto in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” the fourth installment in the rom-com series based on the works of author Helen Fielding. Twenty years after the events of “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” Bridge, now in her fifties, navigates widowhood, motherhood, and reentering the dating scene four years after the death of her beloved Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). True to form, the London diarist develops feelings for two very different men who appeal to the different sides of her: Fun and sexy 28-year-old student/park ranger Roxster (Leo Woodall), and Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the more age-appropriate, brainy teacher of her ten-year-old son Billy (Casper Knopf).

In addition to Billy, Bridget is also mum to six-year-old Mabel (Mila Jankovic), who is too young to remember Mark and thinks any man who interacts with Bridge is her new daddy. Billy, meanwhile, who takes a lot after his father, is still feeling that loss. Fortunately, in addition to his mum and teacher, he also has support from his dad’s former bestie, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), who has graduated to a lovable uncle figure. Daniel is also a source of support to his former lover Bridget, although he is still a womanizer with a potty mouth, but there is something oddly comforting and nostalgic about hearing him refer to Bridget’s skirt and calling her a “dirty bitch.”

“Mad About the Boy” is more like the original film than either of the previous two sequels. Early on, there’s a stuffy dinner party scene that echoes the one in the first film, but instead of discussing Bridget’s prospects as a single woman in her early thirties, her friends carry on about her options as a middle-aged widow. Her ride-or-die trio of BFFS, podcaster Shazzer (Sally Phillips), one-hit wonder-turned-life coach Tom (James Callis) and executive Jude (Shirley Henderson), however, all agree on one thing: Bridge needs to have sex. After some sad reflections back at home, she retrieves her old diary, and the viewer cannot help but to feel something when she makes her first new entry, followed by her dancing around her townhouse to David Bowie’s “Modern Love” as the opening credits roll.

Bridget is also reinvigorated by her return to work as a television producer, and just as was the case with the original film, most of the humor is milked from her day-to-day life and insecurities. She no longer focuses on her weight, as we are supposed to be in a more body-positive era, but instead dwells on her age, her perceived shortcomings as a parent, her lack of style, etc. In the past she compared herself to the hot young babes in the office, but now she’s now internally competing with the hot, put-together mommies at the school, proving this sort of thing is something most women never grow out of, probably due to societal pressures.

Landing Roxster, whom she meets after he rescues her and her kids from a tree, is an ego boost for Bridget, and their ensuing summer romance provides some sultry escapism. He’s a sweet, attractive, well-meaning guy who gets it done in the bedroom. As for Woodall, he is sincere, but he also has a lot of fun with the role, especially in the scene in which he jumps into a pool to rescue a dog. Predictably, the relationship is not sustainable long term, but we can admire Bridge for living in the moment, even if her connection with “the boy” seems like a sugar rush more than anything, and it is only a matter of time before the inevitable crash.

Just like in the previous stages in her life, a big part of Bridget’s journey here is reevaluating her priorities and figuring out what she really wants in a partner at the end of the day. This, along with her quirkiness and ability to laugh at herself, is what has made her an enduring and relatable character. Her connection with Mr. Wallaker is slow to grow, maybe even too slow, but Zellweger and Ejiofor have some lovely, moving scenes together. He’s a teacher who has devoted his life to educating kids about science. What’s not sexy about that? By the end, Bridget and those of us that love her find themselves back in a warm, familiar place that feels like a toasty get-together with old friends.

“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” begins streaming Feb. 13 on Peacock.