Bridget Jones (played by Renee Zellweger) continues to overcomplicate even the simplest situations in Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason.  After winning the affections of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the conclusion of the first film, this sequel sees Bridget doing her very best to unwittingly ruin this dream relationship.

I haven’t read the novel but surely there’s more substance than what’s on show here.  This is a paper thin plot and simply revolves around Bridget in pursuit of a husband.  They may only have been going out for two months but all she can think of is accepting a proposal of marriage from Mark Darcy. 

There are three parts though to most romantic movies – boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl.  The film meanders innocently through the first two acts before taking an absolutely farcical turn in the finale.  The convoluted situation by which the two are reunited is ludicrous.  I’ll bite my tongue and not reveal this element of the story but for those that have seen the film, it all begins when Bridget puts something in her suitcase.  You can make humour out of any situation but given the sweetness of Bridget and her story, I’m really surprised they took this path.  It borders on being insulting.

I raved about the first film when released in 2001.  It was a box-office hit and earned Renee Zellweger an Academy Award nomination.  Like any sequel though, the motivation behind this production appears to be money.  All was nicely tied up at the end of Bridget Jones’ Diary and there was no need to revisit this tale.

If you ask me, Mark and Bridget make a pretty uninteresting couple.  She’s a neurotic who will never be happy and he’s a bore who works too much.  The only life in the film comes from the reappearance of Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver, one of Bridget’s work colleagues.  Grant and Zellweger share some mildly funny scenes but that’s as far as my endorsements go.

This time around, the diary of Bridget Jones is a very tedious read.