Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) is coming back inBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyalong with Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), and I’m relieved he won’t have a big role in it now that Darcy (Colin Firth) won’t return. If there’s something we can thank the current trend of legacy sequels and reboots for is the return of some beloved franchises, and among them isBridget Jones. Although the third movie,Bridget Jones’s Baby, finally gave Bridget and Darcy a happy ending, there’s one more story to tell almost a decade later.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boyis based on Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel of the same name. Set 14 years after the events ofThe Edge of Reason(this talking about the books, not the movies),Mad About The Boycatches up with Bridget, now a 51-year-old widow who still keeps a diary. To the audience’s shock,Mad About The Boyreveals Darcy died five years prior, leaving Bridget as a single mother of two. Among theconfirmed characters returning inBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyis Grant’s Daniel Cleaver, but luckily, his role won’t be as big as in previous movies.
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Hugh Grant’s return inBridget Jones: Mad About The Boycame as a surprise after his absence inBridget Jones’s Baby. The thirdBridget Jonesmovie went through some obstacles and delays during production due to creative differences between the actors and the script. This is what reportedly led Grant to leaveBridget Jones’s Babyas he didn’t like the script and dropped out. Instead of Cleaver, a new character was introduced as part of Bridget’s seemingly never-ending love triangle: Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey).
At the end ofBridget Jones’s Baby, a newspaper headline revealed Daniel Cleaver had been found alive.
Bridget Jones’s Babyaddressed Cleaver’s absence by saying he had supposedly died in a plane crash, but the movie had one final surprise. At the end ofBridget Jones’s Baby, a newspaper headline revealed Daniel Cleaver had been found alive, so there was hope for him to return in a future movie. Speaking toVanity Fair, Grant confirmed that he couldn’t fit Cleaver into the story ofBridget Jones’s Babyand left, but admitted he didn’t like a specific part of the script forMad About The Boy.
Grant explained that he loved the story and it made him cry, but there wasn’t a part of Cleaver in it. Grant wanted to help and knew the team behindBridget Jones: Mad About The Boywanted Cleaver, sohe wrote some scenes that the filmmakers likedenough to incorporate them into the script. Grant went on to sayBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyis “very funny” and “very moving”, but revealed he only did a week’s work, so he isn’t in it a lot.
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Colin Firth isn’t among the confirmed cast forBridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, so it’s understood that the movie will stay true to that part of the book’s story – of course, that doesn’t mean Firth’s Darcy can’t return in flashbacks.Mad About The Boyfollows Bridget’s attempts to re-enter the dating scene, which has changed a lot since she was single, as she now has to get used to texting and social media as part of dating.
My concern about Cleaver’s return was the movie taking the spotlight away from Bridget’s inner journey and struggles to place it on Cleaver.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boywill most likely be the most personal movie in the saga, as Bridget goes through a much more complex emotional and personal journey than in the previous movies. With this in mind, my concern about Cleaver’s return was the movie taking the spotlight away from Bridget’s inner journey and struggles to place it on Cleaver and how he messes with Bridget’s life again.
On top of that,I worry aboutBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyfalling back into the old Daniel Cleaver patternin which Bridget falls into his “love” trap again only to be reminded of how terrible he is as a sentimental pattern. This would also mean repeating the story of the first two movies, and I like to think Bridget is a lot smarter now and won’t fall for Cleaver again – butif he has a much smaller role, it’s unlikely these patterns will be repeated.
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Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boycould do what the previous movies didn’t: see Daniel Cleaver change for good. It would be hard to believe that a near-death experience with a plane crash didn’t trigger a change in Cleaver, so instead of being a messy love interest for Bridget again, he could be more of an ally. Cleaver and Darcy were best friends at some point, so Darcy’s death is something he and Bridget could bond over without it having to be romantic.
A big part of Cleaver’s essence is how charming he is and how experienced he is when it comes to dating, sohe could help Bridget adapt to dating in the modern world. Daniel Cleaver’s smaller role inBridget Jones: Mad About The Boydoesn’t sound like it would give him enough time to be a love interest, so the focus can be fully on Bridget Jones and the challenges she will face as a widowed mother of two.
Source:VanityFair.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy
Widowed for four years, Bridget Jones raises her children while supported by friends and family. Pressed to rebuild her life, she returns to work and explores dating, meeting a younger man. Balancing romance, work, and motherhood, Bridget navigates pressures from all parts of her social and family life.
