McDreamy is Bridget Jones' Baby
Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 9:40AM Here's Murtada with some casting and sequel news.
Patrick Dempsey is joining Bridget Jones’ Baby, the third movie about the charming British singleton played by Renee Zellweger. Is this the first announcement about his movie? Filming starts pretty soon, October 2nd to be exact. Did we miss something? Is Zellweger returning to major movies and the headlines are about McDreamy? Both Zellweger and Colin Firth are expected back but not Hugh Grant hence Dempsey. Although there are no details yet on who Dempsey is playing, it’s clear from the casting this may be another love triangle.
Zellweger aside, are we ready for for Bridget to come back? It’s been more than a decade since the last movie. Are people really going to see this? From the recent long-after-first-few reboots and sequels people really wanted to see Jurassic World while no one cared for the Terminator reboot. Like the latter the last Bridget was in the mid-aughts. Not a good sign. People who loved it at the time might not feel nostalgic for it yet while younger audiences wouldn’t care.
The first film, Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), is a romantic comedy gem that came at a time when those were made regularly and some were made well. The book which of course came before the movie was a phenomenon. We loved Bridget’s self deprecating voice and wanted her to have the Elizabeth Bennet fantasy she dreamed of. Zellweger was aces in the part calming down everyone who was mad an American was cast as this quintessentially British woman. The second film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) followed shortly. In addition to the preposterous title, it's a trifle. Coming with an unnecessary sojourn into a Bangkok prison (is this a remake of both Bangkok Hilton and Brokedown Palace?) it presented nothing new. Just went on repeating all the best beats of the original including the fun and childish rivalry between Mark Darcy (Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Grant). Let’s just forget about it and watch that fight scene from Diary again.
Is Dempsey over Grant an upgrade? If we’re being shallow and judging just by how they look today Dempsey wins. However he’s not the caddish charmer that is Grant as Daniel and that's was proven way sexier. Remember his seduction of Bridget and the way he said “absolutely enormous panties”. Can Dempsey match that? Dempsey’s charm is different. Blandly handsome with no gravitas, i.e. the perfect foil for a Disney princess like he was for Amy Adams in Enchanted. He could lay on that wholesome charm but we all know everyone likes the bad boy more.
It’s clear where we stand on the Grant/Dempsey debate but tell us where you are and why.
Reader Comments (7)
This could be good for Renee's career if it's made on a conservative budget and does respectably at the box office.
I think gaining the weight and returning to such a recognizable character will make her look a bit more like herself to the mean, snotty public who crucified her last year. I'm sure the production team won't allow her to look "wrong" as Bridget Jones. And the deglamming aspect of this role plays to whatever flaws Zellweger has naturally.
It's a shame that proving she can be chubby and frumpy again is a way out of this weird spot.
Does this mean we're not getting Bridget Jones' Surgery?
off topic (sorry!)
Brazil's picks 'The Second Mother' as our foreign language nominee.
this is the first time, in 30 years, that we choose a movie directed for a woman. Last time was in 1986 with 'hour of the star'.
Now the third book is out, and great in my opinion, why would anyone want to make a "Baby" movie ??? The third book storyline is perfectly in line with Zellweger's new look and she wouldn't have to gain weight again, and of course a little drama in a third movie wouldn't be a bad thing as nobody wants to see another remake of the first one (which the Edge of Reason was in some way).
As i really miss Zellweger, i would watch anything she'd be in, but i really don't understand why the producers want to stick with the Baby formula ... Anyway, wait and see !
Between this and The Whole Truth, from the director of Frozen River, I'm hoping for a solid Renee comeback within the next two years.
Consider me one of those nostalgic for the original, despite the sequel. My favorite scene is directly before the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ige4ZFeST2k
I loved the first book to death, liked the movie, was okay with the second book, hated the second movie, and was bored to tears by the third book. This is a series of diminishing returns, though I'm glad that Renee is back. I'll probably just reread the first book for the zillionth time and watch the Courtney Hunt movie instead.