FILM REVIEW: Bridget Jones' Baby (2016) – filmed in London, UK

September 23rd, 2016 Sonja ENGLISH FILMS, FILM REVIEWS, FILMED IN THE UK

12 years after the second Bridget Jones film finished, a clumsy as ever 40-something Bridget is still stumbling her way through London – and becomes pregnant by two possible fathers…

The Story

Bridget is now 43 years old and life in London is good. She has finally reached her ideal weight (something that weight-conscious Renée Zellweger who had to put on a few kilos for the first two Bridget Jones films, set as a condition to star as Bridget once more) and a "great job" as a news producer working with 30-somethings that are not "obsessed about having kids".

Her love life, however, is still a little bit of a mess. In the beginning of the film, we see her attending the funeral of her former womanizer flame Daniel Cleaver (in the first two Bridget Jones films played by Hugh Grant). There, she also sees her ex Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) – and his new wife Camilla – again. After finally coming together at the end of the second Bridget Jones film, they had spent 10 years as a couple before breaking up and Darcy marrying someone else.

Bridget still writes in her diary. © Universal Pictures

However, both are still kind of attracted to each other. So when they meet again at a baptism, Darcy reveals that he is getting a divorce from his wife Camilla and so Bridget and Mark end up sleeping together. At a music festival that Bridget's work colleague takes her to, she also has a one-night stand with Jack (Patrick Dempsy) – an American businessman, who made his fortune with a new dating website concept based on algorithms.

And so it began… Bridget and Mark and their first awkward encounter… © Universal Pictures

A couple of weeks later, Bridget finds out that she is pregnant. The problem: As she's slept with Mark and Jack in the same week, both are equally likely to be the father. Now she does not only have to figure out how to tell the possible dads-to-be, but also which man she would actually prefer to be with…

The Location

Me at the entrance to Bridget Jones' flat in April 2016. © Sonja Irani / filmfantravel.com

It was great to see that Bridget still lives in the same, familiar flat as in the first two films. In fact, I think that in this third Bridget Jones film there were even more scenes that took place around the exterior of her London flat in Bedale Street close to Borough Market in Southwark. There is one scene, for example, in which Bridget locks herself out of her apartment and we see a lot of the surrounding Borough Market area.

Borough Market. © Sonja Irani / filmfantravel.com

The nearest tube stop to "Bridget's flat" is London Bridge Station. From here, you can take in many of London's favourite sights: You can stroll through the famous market, along the river Thames or the nearby bridges (ie. the Millennium Bridge). You can also marvel at the contrasting buildings such as the modern "Shard" and the old "Southwark Cathedral" below.

If you feel hungry, you can grab a traditional London meal right in Bridget's flat. Well, the building at least, as it houses a pub called "The Globe".

The entrance to Bridget Jones' flat (left) and the entrance to "The Globe" pub (right). © Sonja Irani / filmfantravel.com

Directly opposite the door which serves as the entrance to Bridget's flat, you will also find the "Greek restaurant" in front of which Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver had their epic fight in the first Bridget Jones movie.

The "Greek Restaurant". © Sonja Irani / filmfantravel.com

As Bridget Jones is almost a London landmark herself, there were naturally many more scenes which featured the British capital. For example when Bridget catches Mark after work and is trying to tell him that he may or may not will become a father.

Mark and Bridget in London. © Universal Pictures

Outside of London, scenes were filmed at a concert of Ed Sheeran (who has a cameo in the film) at Croke Park in Dublin. Furthermore, the crew headed to Windsor Great Park at Rosy Bottom as well as to a church in Oxfordshire.

The Performance

I really liked the fact that Bridget Jones' Baby stars the same actors as in the previous films (well, minus Daniel Cleaver / Hugh Grant who apparently didn't want to return for the sequel). This is because the actors are actually around the same age as their characters (Bridget is 43, Renée is 47, Mark Darcy is probably a bit older, Colin Firth is 56).

So yeah, the actors do have some more wrinkles now, which makes the whole film very authentic. And ok, you can see that Renée Zellweger has had some face surgery, but I didn't think it's actually that bad. It's not like you wouldn't recognize her again.

Bridget, Jack and Mark preparing to become parents. © Universal Pictures

I also liked the fact that the producers decided to adapt a different story for the film than the one depicted in the third Bridget Jones novel. In the book, Bridget is a 50-something widow (Mark Darcy had died 4 years earlier) as well as the mother of two small children with Darcy. After she tries out modern forms of dating such Tinder, she has an affair with a 29-year-old toyboy.… hence the fitting name "Mad about the Boy".

And without revealing too much of the story, there is room for speculation that there may be a fourth Bridget Jones film, which may or may not feature the original womanizer Daniel Cleaver…

My final verdict: Some of the dialogues seemed a little staged and "over the top". Overall though, I think that cast and crew couldn't have done a better job with this fantastic sequel of the London heroine we can all somehow relate to.

***** 5 out of 5 stars

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