After 9 years, our charmingly clumsy Bridget Jones makes it back to our screens in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, engaging a fanbase that spans generations.
The character Bridget Jones made her first appearance in a 1995 newspaper column, written by Helen Fielding in The Independent. The column featured the life of a 30-something, single, frazzled English woman navigating romance, career struggles, and above all societal expectations. The column resonated with many people and took off, leading to the 1996 bestselling novel Bridget Jones’s Diary.
The beloved novel didn’t take long to hit the big screen, with the 2001 film adaptation bringing Bridget Jones to life. Renée Zellweger starred as the lovable but chaotic Bridget, alongside Colin Firth as the dashing Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as the irresistibly charming yet unreliable Daniel Cleaver. The movie was a massive success, giving rise to two sequels and, most recently, a third instalment – perfectly timed for Valentine’s Day.
In Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Bridget embarks on a new chapter of her life. Now in her 50s, she’s a widowed mother of two, Billy and Mabel, trying to balance the challenges of parenting and moving forward after loss, all while navigating an unexpected romance with a younger man. The film delicately explores themes of love and loss, offering a bittersweet yet feel-good reflection on the complexities of life, relationships, and starting over.
Yet, a quick glance around the theatre on February 13 shows that Bridget Jones isn’t just for longtime fans. Audiences of all ages are embracing Bridget’s world, with Gen Z finding her just as relatable today as older generations did back in 2001. Initially, it may seem odd that a generation that’s obsessed with ‘clean girl aesthetics’, perfectly curated ‘photo dumps’, and the most elaborate skincare routines, is enchanted by Bridget Jones’ messy aesthetic. On TikTok, over 3 million posts can be found under the search ‘Bridget Jones’. Videos rave about everything from her quirky aesthetic and cozy home to her style – yes, even that infamous ‘sad excuse’ for a skirt is getting its moment of fame.
How is it that a generation obsessed with curating the perfect online persona seems to resonate with Bridget Jones, who’s constantly messing up, an awful cook, never has her hair in place, and drinks and smokes excessively? Maybe it’s exactly that. Bridget isn’t perfect, and despite her best efforts to be, she simply isn’t. The franchise serves as a comforting reminder that no matter how hard we try, life will always have its messiness. In many ways, Bridget is the ultimate female anti-hero, a stark, unapologetic contrast to the polished, curated versions of ourselves that social media so often demands.
Without taking away from Bridget Jones’ thunder, it’s worth noting that trends, whether in fashion, music or beyond, tend to resurface roughly every 30 years. This cyclical pattern has sparked a growing nostalgia for the ‘90s, when we weren’t yet so glued to our phones and obsessed with likes, reposts, and retweets.
The popularity of Bridget Jones is reminding a new generation that life isn’t about perfection, it’s about embracing the chaos. Sometimes the best moments come when things don’t go according to plan. After all, a little spontaneity, a bit of laughter, a slightly messy house, and the occasional glass (or two) of wine never hurt anyone.
