An Entertaining Yet Imperfect Sequel
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason starts where Bridget is caught in the dynamics of a new relationship with Mark Darcy after they ended the first movie romantically. While the character is celebrating the recent victories, her weaknesses and failures can jeopardise her love life. Besides that, she has to end up in a risky messy affair that occurs during her business trip in Thailand, where she finds herself in a legal drama she did not anticipate. Daniel Cleaver comes back into Bridget’s life on the scene; that is charming and provoking the feelings of jealousy and insecurity that she once had for him. It is a screwball comedy with dramatic tones that characterize lay, particularly, the inner conflict Bridget has going through phases of insecurity to self-esteem. Humor is present from start to finish of the film and is based on great caricature of a character supplemented by strictly midwestern running gags which are used to the point of burgeoning, such as having her car stolen every time she searches for a new life. Although not sitcom-like at all, there is a hint of romantic feeling to hold the movie from falling into the realm of heavy slapstick comedy – emotions are nicely balanced. For instance, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy has made his character so grounded, though a little unapproachable, which contrasts sharply with Bridget’s character. What is attractive is the way in which Grant reprises his skin as Daniel Cleaver in vile character to the steadiness of Darcy. The chemistry that connects the main characters makes emotional aspects of the story incredibly realistic despite the clearly fantastic plot.
The film is directed by Beeban Kidron who succeeded in shooting with the warmth of the picture and added some features that are different from the French version. On the whole, Kidron succeeds with Bridget’s adventures; having a clear vision that effectively guides her excitements and experiences though some are more triggered than others causing the flow to be somewhat uneven. The music is also apt with respect to the type of scenes and occasions ranging from pop music to romantic songs, although it may even be a little excessive at some times.
The work of the director of cinematography can be described as successful: the common British landscape transformed into a populous city is contrasted with exotic Thailand. Overall, the cinematography effectively helps the movie tell its story whereas the concept behind the visual patterns in the General is not particularly original compared to other romantic comedies of this kind. And even though, for one last time, British surroundings of the movie are rather cozy – Thai environment is rather vivid and chaotic, bringing the story to really existing yet fantastical environments. Fortunately, this seems to be a refreshing change as the movie does not overuse CGI, which is vital to anchor the film in realistic and human terms.
The editing is good most of the time; however, some times it appears that the flow of the movie is not well managed especially during shift from funny scenes to scenes of action and tension. The third part could have been more tightly constructed to increase the tension and excitement of the film from a middle part of a movie. Some comedy clichés are used successfully followed by a predictable montage more than once.
The film is full of witty dialogues which were heard throughout the movie. The comical dialogues of Bridget is well depicted in the script and some are seen to be over emphasized than in the first part. At the same time, the movie level is too tight, it is filled with an attempt to embody a large number of diverse parallel plots and stories, this overloading evens out the emotions. I liked the portrayal of imperfect love and self-realization preventing it from a complete fallacy.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is funny and romantic movie that is worth watching though it has few drawbacks. It is central on issues of relationships and it is comedic, which makes everyone who enjoys the episodes of a people’s love life or self-discovery, enjoy the movie. Nevertheless, the movie can be viewed as warm, engaging, and fun despite its flaws.
