Despite Being A Fan, I Was Dragging My Feet About Watching Bridget Jones 4, But It Wasn't What I Expected

I remember reading Bridget Jones’s Diaries at some point around when the original movie adaptation of Helen Fielding’s novel arrived in theaters. At that time, the character was instantly iconic to my early adult mind, and Renée Zellweger’s depiction of the relatable 30-something London singleton was perfection as far as I was (and still am) concerned. It’s easy to see why the 2001 movie would fit nicely on any list of the best romantic comedies of all time.

While Edge of Reason likely wouldn’t make that list, I admit, I still have a place in my heart for it. As for Bridget Jones’s Baby, I remember thinking the 2016 film was fine enough. All of this is to say, I’m a fan of the first two books — I haven’t read Mad About The Boy — and the films, for the most part. But I was reluctant to watch Mad About The Boy, especially after I saw the trailer. Alas, curiosity (and love for this character) got the better of me, and I watched it streaming with my Peacock subscription. I’m glad I did, because it wasn’t what I expected.

Spoilers ahead!

First, Here's What I Expected...

If you’ve seen the trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, you know it gives away the fact that Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) has died, and Bridget is now a single mother on the brink of exploring romance again. That in itself was enough to cause me to hit the brakes. Because Bridget and Mark getting together was the whole point of not one, or even two, but three movies, and now that's over?

I had two genuine concerns about what to expect, the first being that it might be too sad to see Bridget grieving Mark, especially after their story’s numerous happily-ever-after endings.

The second was kind of the other end of the spectrum — I feared that Mark’s death would be sort of glossed over, and the movie would address it just enough to explain why Bridget is a single mom, before focusing on more of the comedic shenanigans we’ve come to know and love about her.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good second act story. We need more of those in movies. But I really wasn’t sure I was up for seeing this followup to Bridget and Mark’s love story. Either it would be too sad, or frankly, it wouldn’t be sad enough. Well… I was wrong on both counts.

But Here's What I Got...

Like I said, I haven’t read Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, so I can’t speak to whether this movie is a faithful adaptation to Fielding’s novel. What I can say is that the movie is a faithful followup to the spirit of the original films. What’s more, it really isn’t a rehashing of what we’ve seen before, nor did it emotionally wreck me. Oh, I cried, but more on that later.

(And here’s where I drop a final spoiler warning, because I’m about to get into some specifics about the plot of the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you stop reading now.)

While Mad About The Boy does have an emphasis on Bridget’s grief, the story doesn’t pick up immediately after Mark's death, so there’s been some time for Bridget and her two children to move forward in a life. Mark's absence is undoubtedly felt, but it’s not the jarring, raw kind of grief that comes with a sudden and recent loss.

In addition to Mark’s absence, Bridget is getting back out there. The trailers and promos I’d seen sort of implied that there are three men in consideration for Bridget’s next romance — Leo Woodall’s young and dreamy Roxster, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s brainy Scott Walliker (Bridget’s son’s teacher), and Hugh Grant’s ever-flirty Daniel Cleaver.

I was relieved that Daniel was never really in the running as a possible suitor for Bridget in this movie. I don’t think I could’ve gotten my head around a second-chance romance between these two in the wake of Mark’s death. But I absolutely love the role Daniel plays in Bridget’s life now, as a close friend to her and her children. Grant remains perfect in this role, and the movie did his character justice. But, he’s not Bridget’s new boyfriend, so let’s move on.

I enjoyed the stories surrounding the two actual romantic interests — Roxster and Scott. I also appreciated that there was never much of a love-triangle happening, as Bridget’s relationship with Roxster wraps up before anything really gets started with Scott. Both relationships matter, as Roxster brings Bridget out of her shell, and Scott… well, he turns out to be just who Bridget needs and deserves (and vice versa).

I Laughed...

If the movie’s intention was to show our Bridget rising to the challenge of being a single mom in search of love, it nails it. Every bit of the comedy feels adjusted to match who Bridget is at this point in her life, which I absolutely loved.

From the sight of Bridget getting stuck in a tree while trying to help her kids, to the reactions of the party guests as her new beau slow-mo emerges from a pool wearing a wet, white shirt, to the banter Bridget shares with her co-workers, her friends, and/or her gynecologist (played by Emma Thompson), to so many other great scenes, Mad About The Boy is exactly the kind of comedy my soul needed, and it’s exactly the kind of comedy I didn’t realize I needed for this character.

But my soul also needed to cry, so I did.

Oh, I Cried

Mark Darcy’s memory is present throughout the film, not only through Bridget’s grief, but also in the way her children Billy (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic) are trying to process his absence. As a person who lost a parent at a young age, my heart aches for every child that shares that unfortunate experience, whether real or fictional. So I was already invested in Billy’s concerns and the way he was clearly trying to deal with his own grief.

I feel like I should have guessed that a performance of Oliver!’s “I’d Do Anything” would be the song he’d perform on stage at the talent show as tribute to his dad — after all, we saw Mark singing the song to Billy in a flashback — and yet it honestly didn’t occur to me until the moment he took the stage. And then… well, bring on the waterworks!

It’s impressive to me that the movie was able to work Billy’s emotional part of the story in with everything else that was happening and have it land so perfectly. What’s more, Bridget’s own reaction to her son’s performance and her appreciation toward Scott for his part in making it happen set the next love story up perfectly.

This Chapter Had To Be Told

At this point, it’s clear I liked the movie, right? And I’m glad I watched it. But what I really didn’t see coming was just how glad I was that this chapter of Bridget’s story was told. I didn’t know I needed it, and at one point, I actually thought I didn’t want it, but here we are. It still breaks my heart that Mark Darcy died, and a part of my mind will always want to stick to the original story where they fall in love and end up together, living happily ever after.

But, I also love Bridget Jones in this specific movie, at this point in her story.

I feared that what we might see is more or less the same character we saw in the earlier films. And we kind of did — Bridget is still Bridget in Mad About The Boy (right down to lip-syncing her heart out in her red pajama top), but she’s also a widow and a mother and friend and a successful TV producer. The Bridget in this film seems more confident in exactly who she is as a woman, and that comes through as she starts dating.

I loved seeing the growth Bridget experienced over the years, some of which is surely due to the years she had with Mark. And it’s that growth that I think allows her to be such a perfect match for Scott, who’s very clearly a good man, who maybe doesn’t always have it all together, who rambles about science and beauty in the sweetest way, and who absolutely deserves to be kissed on the sidewalk in the snow and loved just as he is, kind of like someone else we know.

If you want to hear a take from someone who went into Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy without having seen the earlier movies, check out what Riley had to say in her feature. Or you can read what Sarah had to say about the lack of Colin Firth in the movie.