Colin Firth, Renée Zellweger and Patrick Dempsey.
Camera IconColin Firth, Renée Zellweger and Patrick Dempsey. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Bridget Jones’s Baby three times the fun

Julian WrightEastern Reporter

POOR Bridget Jones, everyone’s favourite mess, is still hopelessly single.

It is years later and despite finally getting down to her goal weight and heading a hard news television program, she is flirting with spinster status.

It all seems to hit home on her 43rd birthday.

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Her life is plagued with complications after a one-night stand with stranger Jack (Patrick Dempsey) at a music festival the same week she slept with former flame Mark (Colin Firth), in which one encounter resulted in her pregnancy.

Being caught between two eligible bachelors is far from unfamiliar territory for this endearing character, but the pregnancy and subsequent hilarious situations it gets her in make for a satisfying third entry.

It has been 12 years since Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason was released, but star Renée Zellweger slips right back into character as if she had only been on hiatus for a couple of months.

There is a freshness and vitality about the film that often lacks from threequels and belated sequels; director Sharon Maguire is to be commended for her snappy direction and hiring the delightfully funny Emma Thompson in a supporting role.

Judging by the enthusiastic response at a recent screening, fans will be pleased with this addition, and may even have them craving a fourth round.

THE ESSENTIALS

Bridget Jones’s Baby (M)

Directed by: Sharon Maguire

Starring: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey

Four stars

In cinemas September 15