Release Date: September 16, 2016
Running Time: 2 hours 2 minutes
Rated R for language, sex references and some sexual references.
Grade: B

I’m pregnant!

The new movie Bridget Jones Baby is a hysterical rom-com about a 43 year single woman who is still looking for Mr. Right. It has been 12 years since we last saw Bridget (Renee Zellweger) in the sequel titled Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. She has fought and won the weight lost battle and seems to have it all – a great job as top news producer and a fulfilling life with friends.

Unfortunately, some of her best friends are married with kids and are not able to celebrate her birthday after work.  Even her friend Tom (James Callis) has to cancel after spin class. The following day, she agrees to a weekend getaway with Miranda, the host of a news program produced by Bridget. Under the impression it was a “spa” weekend, Bridget packs her suitcase and dresses for a hotel stay.  In actuality, the girl’s weekend is the outdoor Glastonbury music festival and the accommodations are tents.

Dressed to the nines in heels no less, Bridget falls face first in a pit of mud.  One of many comical scenes ensues with Jack Qwant, portrayed by the fabulously attractive Patrick Demsey (Grey’s Anatomy, Made of Honor and Sweet Home Alabama), pulling Bridget from the mud.

After changing into a more suitable outfit, Miranda and Bridget have a fun evening that starts with them asking Ed Sheeran to take their photo.  He enlists the help of someone to take a photo of him with the ladies, but they insist they do not want him in the photo.  They have no clue who he is until he takes the stage.

Many drinks later, Bridget stumbles into Jack’s tent and one thing leads to another. She disappears the next morning, never learning his name or anything about him.  A week or two later Bridget attends the baptism of a friend’s baby.  She runs into the handsome and debonair love of her life, Mark Darcy, played by the Academy Award winning actor Colin Firth (The Kings Speech, Love Actually).  She learns that Mark and his wife separated.  After several awkward moments, Bridget and Mark end up in his room.  The morning after, Bridget writes a note to Mark explaining why she can’t be with him.

In an unlikely turn of events, Bridget finds out she is pregnant. She has no clue who the father is.  She tries to get a conception date out of the gynecologist, portrayed by the Academy Award winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility and Saving Mr. Banks).  The doctor picks up on the line of questioning and makes a funny remark about bringing the father with you once you figure out who he.  The doctor goes on to tell her they can test the amniotic fluid, but she must first get some DNA from the potential fathers.  Bridget later decides she is not having the needle inserted in her belly, but not before trying to figure out who the stranger in the tent was.

Bridget learns that Jack is a dashing American billionaire who writes books and runs a dating website based on algorithms.  In order to obtain some DNA and learn more about him, Jack is invited by Miranda to be a guest on her show.  Bridget is found out and must tell Jack about the pregnancy.  She also goes to see Mark and tells him the news as well.

“For better or worse fate has brought us together.”

 Eventually, both learn that one of them is the baby’s father.  This is where things get interesting, watching Jack and Mark attend the childbirth classes and doctor appointments with Bridget.

I don’t know who I would choose.  Mr. Darcy is so dignified, looks amazing in a suit and has that magical British accent. Jack is everything Mr. Darcy is not.  He is outgoing, fun and romantic. In one scene, he pulls out all the romantic stops with gifts for each date they would have had.

I don’t want to give away the rest of the story, but I will say that Jack is falling for Bridget and lets Mark know that his algorithm shows him (Jack) to be an almost perfect match for Bridget.

 “It’s like the final of the X Factor. Dial zero one if you want it to be Mark and zero two if you want it to be Jack.”

Bridget Jones Baby is a charming and entertaining film with witty dialogue for mature audiences.  There is one scene in particular involving Bridget, Mark and Jack arriving at the hospital that is hysterical. Everyone in the audience was laughing so hard I thought they and I would fall out of our seats.  ~A.S. MacLeod

Starring:
Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones
Colin Firth as Mark Darcy
Patrick Dempsey as Jack Qwant
Sarah Solemani as Miranda
Emma Thompson as Dr. Rawling
Gemma Jones as Mrs. Pamela Jones (Mum)
Jim Broadbent as Mr. Colin Jones (Dad)
Sally Phillips as Shazza
James Callis as Tom
Shirley Henderson as Jude
and Ed Sheeran as himself

Directed By:  Sharon Maguire
Screenplay: Helen Fielding and Emma Thompson and Dan Mazer