Bridget Jones is a character who has enraptured audiences for years. Born from a book by Helen Fielding in 1996, Bridget Jones was originally written in the form of diary entries. The first movie, Bridget Jones Diary, was released in 2001 and the most recent movie, Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy, came out on Valentine's Day of 2025. Bridget Jones is a rare character to see portrayed in romcoms, because she is simply a regular person. She can’t stick to her New Year's resolutions, her room is a mess, and she is constantly misinterpreting what is going on around her.
When Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy released, many audience members wondered why they even bothered to make another movie. But for true fans of the series, a closing movie felt right. Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy is now streaming on Peacock.
Josephine McKnett, a sophomore at Berkeley High School acknowledges both the good and the bad of Bridget Jones. “I would recommend other people watch it because it is a very entertaining love story,” McKnett said. She also looks back on how the first movie has aged, “I thought that there was a lot of sexual harassment from especially her boss and I didn’t really enjoy those parts, but I guess because it’s an older movie, that was more accepted back then,” she said.
Nevo Naftalin-Kelman, a BHS junior, thinks that they've exhausted the franchise. “I think it’s a cool idea to follow one character through many stages of her life and to see how she grows, but I think they did decline in quality after the first one as sequels often do,” he said. While he appreciated the first movie, he doesn’t necessarily think they were ever cinematic masterpieces. “I see the appeal of them, they’re entertaining, if I was on a plane and they happened to be playing I would watch it, but I wouldn't rewatch it,” he said. Both Naftalin-Kelman and McKnett bring up the joy of Bridget Jones, while the movie might not be the peak of cinematic filmmaking, it still is very fun.
Felix Waterman, BHS junior, enjoys the continuity of the Bridget Jones movies. “I appreciate that across all four of the movies it really captures the growth of her life and it sticks to one character's life throughout the four movies,” he said. Waterman spoke about how even though the Brigdet Jones movies are rom coms and follow the main character and her romantic partners, the movies are really about her. “Despite the men playing a big role in the movies it’s still centered around her and how she has a regular life,” he said.
The extra movie, while a bit unnecessary, really rounds out the franchise. It gives the audience closure. The Bridget Jones franchise is an interesting look at what it means to follow one character throughout their lifetime and release the movies years apart, along with the audience aging. The Bridget Jones film series slows down and takes the time to look at the development of one woman over time.