Brit Chick Schtick Flick.

It's not easy being a girl. Bridget Jones makes that clear from the first frame. This is probably the first film in a long time to have a woman in her late 30's as the main character where she wasn't a psycho or a whore. Jones may be a mess, but at least she's just your average gal. Hooked on cigarettes, booze, food and sex, she just can't seem to get her act together and find the right guy.

Jesus Christ - is this a film about me?

Well, yes. That's why it's so easy to relate to. I don't care if your male or female, gay, straight, bi, or whatever... If your 30 and single, you can relate to "Bridget Jones's Diary." This is about our inability to get it together, to find a real human connection with another person, to find true love.

It doesn't really hurt anything, but the film is rather poorly crafted. It's based on a book. The literary format, of course, lends itself to a "diary." Film does not. So, to adapt it, novelist turned producer/scripter Helen Fielding utilizes far too much narration and far too much story. She can't really jam it all in but she tries. Bridget has a trio of daft friends who sort of fall by the wayside here. Supposedly Greek chorus, they are really just nerve workers. Of course, they're supposed to be. But much of the secondary character development is non-existent in the finished film. They never really matter.

In the plot, Bridget makes the sad mistake of getting involved in an office romance. But it doesn't really matter who the bloke is or where he works. Point is, he's a heartless bastard. Hugh Grant is a great choice for this role. He finally gets to step outside the box and he performs wonderfully as a cad. Oh yeah, and Bridget is portrayed by Texan Rene Zellweger. It's important to note her home state cause she plays a Brit chick here, and does quite well.

Eventually, of course, Bridget does find true love. She just has to open her eyes. And her heart and mind, as well. Pretty nice life lesson for all us 30-somethings. Bridget doesn't get the hunk. She gets the man who loves her for what she is. That's what she really wants anyway.

Anyway, bottom line about all this, of course, is that the film is amusing and cute and often spot on even if it does move all over the map far too often. It seems incapable of capturing the breadth and mass of a novel and therefore comes across as spotty and jumbled at times. But the truth in the piece somehow shines through these cracks and we see Bridget Jones for the sweet, adorable, girl that she is. And we like her just as she is. And in the end, of course, that's all that really matters.

Note:

Also with Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, and Embeth Davidtz.

Zellweger supposedly gained weight for the role. She never really looks that bad.

Music in the film is new renditions of 70's pop songs, mainly. One of the dumbest comes when Jones' mom has an affair and when Bridget finds out, a new version of "Me and Mrs. Jones" is heard.

That "Jones's" with s's in the title is kind of annoying, isn't it. Is that a British thing? Shouldn't it be "Bridget Jones' Diary?"

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