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[MOVIE REVIEW]Dear Diary, Bravo for Bridget

Published: 05 Jan. 2003, 20:06

Gentlemen, would you like to fall for a woman whose new year's resolution every year for the last decade has been "drink less, smoke less, lose 20 pounds and, most of all, keep my resolutions this year"? Probably not. Though these shortcomings are never resolved, Bridget Jones thinks this never-kept-pledge makes her attractive to men. A "singleton," in her mid-30s, Jones is looking for a man who is "more than gorgeous," and ready to say those words every woman wants to hear: "I like you just as you are."

Based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Helen Fielding (who also wrote the script), "Bridget Jones's Diary" is more than a daily record of a young woman's life. It is a beacon of hope for those women who already are, or soon will be, in their 30s.

Bridget is unmarried, far from confident and still full of dreams. She lives a humdrum life, working in the office of a publishing company. She is introduced to a man named Mark Darcy (Collin Firth), a hotshot human rights lawyer, at New Year's party. But after overhearing Mark speak ill of her, Bridget decides to forget about him. A few days after the party, she finds herself flirting with her boss Daniel Cleave (Hugh Grant), and they begin an affair. Her happiness, however, does not last very long, as she learns that Daniel is engaged.

Bridget is an avid reader of books about the secrets to satisfying a man's inner desires; but ironically, she is struck by the "love of her life," Mark (who makes an encore and mutters the magic words) only after purchasing the book "Life Without Men." This epiphany somehow leads to a love triangle, involving Bridget, Mark and Daniel.

The director, Sharon McGuire, a documentary filmmaker, displays some shortcomings in her feature film debut, but overall this movie succeeds as a cozy piece of entertainment. Texan actress Zellweger is convincing in her portrayal of the British Bridget. No longer just a loyal girlfriend, as she was in "Jerry McGuire" (1996), Zellweger proves here that she is a first-rate actor, especially in the painfully funny scene where she sings "All by Myself."

A Korean poet once wrote that "the feast is over when you turn 30," meaning that after age 30, life is all downhill. But fortunately for women everywhere, Bridget Jones is here to say that life can remain sweet － just so long as you are willing to deal with a few embarrassments along the way.

by Chun Su-jin