’Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Critical Roundup: The Third Time’s the Charm for Renée Zellweger
Bridge is back, 12 years later, and she’s going to be a mom. While “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” the first follow-up to the beloved book-based rom-com “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (which earned Renée Zellweger a 2002 Oscar nod) was generally considered a disappointment, things seem to be looking up for installment number three, “Bridget Jones’s Baby.”
Kevin P. Sullivan at Entertainment Weekly finds charm and gut-laughs despite the film’s predictable tone:
“The proceedings may be typical for Bridget and the series, but it’s all played so earnestly that it’s difficult to hold a grudge.”
Variety‘s Catherine Bray gives props to a female storyline not typically depicted in mainstream comedies:
“‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ is not a comedy for the ages, but it’s interesting to see a rom-com starring a middle-aged woman grappling with irrelevance in the workplace.”
READ MORE: ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ Trailer: Renée Zellweger Handles Baby Daddy Drama Like A Pro
The Telgraph‘s Tim Robey feels that Zellweger has found Bridget again, and despite its plentiful flaws, the comedy’s charm pulls through:
“Zellweger feels back in charge of the character again, and even her excesses are easily indulged, after the tonally hideous detour of 2004’s ‘The Edge of Reason.'”
Meanwhile, Jane Crowther at Total Film gives it a 4 out of 5 stars saying:
“A warm, witty and welcome return – intelligently evolved and an absolute hoot. As Bridget would say: ‘v.good’.”
That said, IndieWire‘s own Demetrios Matheou thinks the third “Bridget Jones” is mediocre at best:
“In keeping with the franchise’s pattern, when she becomes pregnant, Bridget is unsure which of the two men is the father, and so a much wished-for event again becomes the stuff of farce.”
“Bridget Jones’s Baby” sees the return of Colin Firth‘s Mark Darcy alongside our comic heroine, but this time the love triangle (and now game of Who’s the Papa?) includes a new flame, dating site mogul Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey.) The film is set for release on September 16.
