*WARNING: MAJOR Spoilers Ahead!*
If you’re into rom-coms, you’ve probably already stumbled across the Bridget Jones’s Diary trilogy at some point.
Starring RenĂ©e Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, Bridget Jones’s Diary is an iconic rom-com that follows the trials and tribulations of a thirty-something Londoner in search of love and self-confidence. (Great movie trilogy to watch for Galantines, ladies!)
If you’ve enjoyed the trilogy, I’ve got news for you: Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is coming out on February 12! I’m sure the title alone has pegged some interesting questions for you, so without further ado, let’s dive into why the latest (and final) Bridget Jones movie may just bring you to tears – its deeper meaning is quite sorrowful.
Hugh Grant’s Return.
Not entirely a tear-jearker, but an interesting detail nonetheless.
Before filming Bridget Jones’s Baby back in 2015, Hugh Grant simply didn’t see himself fitting into the script: “Grant was asked to reprise the prickly role in the 2004 sequel, The Edge of Reason, which he did, and again in the next sequel, 2016’s “Bridget Jones’s Baby”, which he declined. “I really couldn’t fit my character in—he just didn’t belong, so I stepped aside,” Grant says. Grant claims he isn’t afraid to decline work, and he doesn’t accept offers without careful consideration.
In a recent interview for Vanity Fair, Grant reveals that after reading the script for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, he was skeptical about taking part in the filming, as he still didn’t see his character fitting into the script. While Grant claims that he loved the script – so much so that he cried when reading it – he truly felt that there was no place for beloved character Daniel Cleaver in it. Or so he thought.
Wanting to help out the production team which was calling for a major plot twist in the final movie of the series by bringing Cleaver back (who has supposedly died off in a plane crash in Bridget Jones’s Baby), Grant took it into his own hands to write some scenes into the script where he could see his character appropriately showing up. “I wrote some scenes,” Grant shares, which the filmmakers liked enough to add to the plot. He officially joined the cast from there.
Sly and flirtatious Daniel Cleaver will be back in the last production of the Bridget Jones tetralogy. But how will his role truly fit into the script? Will he be the same player that we and Ms. Jones know and remember, or a changed man?
Mark Darcy Dies… Bummer!
This one shocked me. (Accurate picture below depicting mood when I discovered the news).
Yup. After chasing Darcy’s love for over 10 years, Mark unexpectedly dies in the final film. The real reason behind why the character passes though, is quite sad.
In the final film, Jones learns to navigate life as a single mother of two (she has another kid???) after Darcy was killed on a humanitarian mission in Sudan four years earlier. The fourth installment also shows how Jones tries to navigate her way back into dating – of course, on the recommendation of her friends to do so.
The plot, however, isn’t fantasy; it’s based on author Helen Fielding’s real-life experiences.
Widow to Kevin Curran, creator of The Simpsons, Curran suddenly died at the age of 59 in 2016 after fighting a long illness. Despite their initial split before his passing, Fielding remained close to Curran up until his last days. Following his passing, she found herself “in a dark place“.
Fielding found that Jones could be an outlet for her to showcase the tragedies of life. We never know what tomorrow will hold, and the unexpected twists that life will bring. Fielding shares a reminder for all of us, that “you don’t have to sit around feeling sorry for your loss – people still stay the same person when something bad happens.”
I’m sure that Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will be a tear-jerker for many reasons. For one, it’s the end of an era, and two, the story itself holds great value. Bridget Jones serves as a great reminder for us that you deserve to be loved for who you are, simply as you are, and you should never try to change yourself to fit into society’s standards. In a world where individualism has become a rarity, use this up-and-coming movie to rekindle your individuality. Love and embrace yourself like how Mark Darcy loved Bridget Jones: just the way you are.