Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has been one of this year’s most charming surprises. Who expected the fourth movie of a rom-com series to tug at the heartstrings so much? The Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Blu-ray allows fans to own the final chapter in the romance series, which ends on its strongest note since the original 2001 phenomenon.
“Two-time Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger returns to the role that established a romantic-comedy heroine for the ages, as Bridget, now a widowed single mother, must juggle work, parenthood, and romance. With the help of her loyal friends, Bridget navigates encounters with a younger man and a series of awkward interactions with her son’s science teacher as she strives to forge a new path toward life and love,” says the official description.
The Bridget Jones sequels haven’t quite lived up to the original’s charm, but they’ve always had some great moments that reminded us of why we love these characters. Mad About the Boy starts with the shocking news that Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy has passed away, and we meet a very different Bridget, one who is in mourning and having to be the rock for her children. Four years have passed, which means Bridget is reluctantly back on the dating scene for more hijinks and even some incredibly mature moments that feel earned rather than out of place. Zellweger hasn’t lost a step comedically and is a real joy to watch throughout the film.
While Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver returns, and is a delight in every scene, the two romantic interests wind up being the much younger Roxster McDuff, played by Leo Woodall, and schoolteacher Scott Walliker (the always great Chiwetel Ejiofor). This is less of a love triangle, as the relationships don’t overlap, but both relationships inform each other, and the film feels like a completed story as a result. Ejiofor is particularly great, sharing some emotionally affecting scenes with both Zellweger and the young actor who plays Bridget’s son.
The Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Blu-ray features over 20 minutes of bonus features. There are four deleted scenes totaling six and a half minutes, one of which features more of Isla Fisher’s character (who I really wish had more screentime), and they’re all relatively fun to watch. There are also three featurettes to sink your teeth into: “Back to Bridget” is a five-minute video taking a look at the series’ legacy and updating Bridget’s character; “Bridget 4.0” is a standard making-of feature totaling 6.5 minutes and features interviews with the cast and crew; and “Mad About the Boys” is a five-minute video look at the multiple love interests in the film. They’re all worth checking out once, and Hugh Grant is as charming as ever in his appearances, but they’re not going to be the reason you purchase.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict
The Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Blu-ray features a strong visual transfer and a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track, which is more than enough for a rom-com. All of the Bridget Jones movies have been fun, even if the trilogy had diminishing returns after the first, but Mad About the Boy is genuinely moving on an emotional level. It’s a wonderful comedy that also takes time to explore grief and moving forward from it. Both Zellweger and Ejiofor do a great job of putting forth a mature relationship that seems like a nice ending point for the series, which has been a rom-com staple since 2001.
Disclosure: ComingSoon received product from the distributor for our Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Blu-ray review.
