Renée Zellweger chats about Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy

Romcoms normally shut the book after the wedding bells ring. But there’s one book we’ll devour at every chance we get. We first opened Bridget Jones’s Diary when messy 20-something singleton Bridget (Renée Zellweger) shared her struggles and self-motivation as a Londoner (with a very important job in publishing) who was looking for love … but first, self-acceptance. And that word singleton? You can thank Bridget – and author Helen Fielding, who started her diary of Bridget’s misadventures as a newspaper column – for that.

Bridget triumphed, scoring lawyer and childhood paddling pool pal Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), and in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, her diary continued. Bridget flailed about the realities of living together, her jealousy over Mark’s attractive co-worker, and the fact that Mark’s politics exposed an ingrained conservatism at odds with his job as a human rights lawyer. Bridget powered through, though, and the next peek at her diary, Bridget Jones’s Baby, recorded her breakup with Mark and her efforts to prioritise her career. A new stage of life – the baby years – loomed after she met a McDreamy American mathematician named Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey), and Bridget had to do some complicated maths to work out whether he or Darcy was her unborn baby’s father. The movies ended with Bridget’s long-delayed wedding bells and her chance to be a “Smug Married”, at long last. 

Now the diary lives on (look out for Bridget’s collection of diaries on the shelves of her Victorian house) in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which brings us all the way to the present day. Bridget, now a 50-something widowed mother of two, is still every bit as chaotic as she was in her 20s. As she blunders through “perfect” motherhood and re-entering the workforce, two potential new loves arrive in the form of 29-year-old dating app hookup and park ranger Roxster (Leo Woodall) and her 10-year-old son Billy’s (Casper Knopf) staid science teacher, Scott Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor). 

Stream Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy now, along with Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and Bridget Jones’s Baby. 

Now read on, because we cracked open Bridget Jones’s Production Diary to find out more! And we have 5 romcom couples to add to your watch list.

Renée on Bridget Jones’s reunion

“It’s funny, I can chronicle my own decades and life experiences around making these films with the extended Bridget family,” says 56-year-old Renée, who was 31 when she first played Bridget. “It’s always very emotional when we get back together with true friends, and more so when we leave.” 

While Bridget’s Mr Darcy is no longer in the picture, the rest of her inner circle is all back for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, including Hugh Grant as cad-about-town Daniel Cleaver, Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones as Bridget’s parents, and Shirley Henderson, James Callis and Sally Phillips as Bridget’s BFFs Jude, Tom and Shazza. Even Colin Firth returns in the form of Bridget’s memories of Mark Darcy, who’s the emotional support voice in her head. “It’s funny, isn’t it?” Zellweger muses. “You have constructed your extended family in such a way that everyone has their place. When somebody shifts in position, the dynamic changes, right? The dynamic evolves, and it becomes something so much more important than you ever thought it could. For Jude, Shazzer and Tom, you see that those bonds remain. They are stronger than ever. What a special thing.”

For adoring fans, the reunion is just as emotional. “In the books, on the screen, it feels like you’re having a reunion with your friend,” adds Renée. “It’s such an interesting thing for a fictional character to move through life at the same pace as the folks who relate to her and love her. People feel that they can see themselves reflected in Bridget’s life experiences. They want to meet up with her again to see how she’s grown and how her life has changed – how she’s dealing with her current challenges. This is felt universally by those who have grown up with Bridget.”

“Bridget reminds us that it’s okay to be imperfect. You can still get the guy, still succeed and be happy when you’re just yourself. You’re okay being imperfect,” insists Renée. Director Michael Morris adds, “What Renée brings to Bridget is this wonderfully relentless optimism and positivity. You get the sense that Bridget cares about the people that she’s with … and that Bridget wants things to be perfect for everyone. Renée radiates that.”  

We love our chaos queen

The path to true love is, as always, scattered with dog poop. Every time Scott Walliker sees Bridget, she seems to be at peak cringe – stuck up a tree, interviewing him about insects’ souls for class career day, or duck-faced from a makeup disaster. “Mr Walliker brings out that very familiar side of Bridget,” reveals Renée. “She questions herself, she becomes self-conscious, she’s not sure that she’s making the right decisions, that she’s able to achieve the things that she’s trying to accomplish. That the way she goes about things is awkward and clearly could be done better, and most times is just ridiculous and embarrassingly wrong.” 

But that’s not all Mr Walliker sees, as Chiwetel explains, “Mr Walliker finds Bridget very strange at first. She has this remarkable chaos around her, and he believes in a kind of rigidity, a certain kind of structure. She’s his polar opposite, but through their conversations and interactions he starts to see the universe that she creates around her, and that begins to change his opinion on her.” 

Mr Walliker is not alone in his growing obsession. “Roxster parallels Bridget in a lot of ways, with his love of a good laugh, and his joie de vivre, warmth and authenticity,” says Renée. “I love how Roxster appreciates what’s beautiful in Bridget – all of the things that we’ve all come to love in Bridget – her humanity, her imperfection, how easily she laughs. He holds a mirror up to her to remind her of her value … when she’s probably been questioning that for a while.” 

As much as they both love her, the big question remains as to whether they can stand toe-to-toe with Bridget’s great love, Darcy. “Mark Darcy is the heart and soul of this film in many ways – at least, the connection between Mark and Bridget is,” explains director Michael Morris. “His presence isn’t a flashback, exactly. He’s there at the beginning of the film in a way that I think anyone who has experienced certain kinds of grief will recognise. He’s a coping mechanism, someone who makes tricky moments easier for Bridget. When you see him, he feels real, and then you realise he’s not – at least, not in the way you first thought. Those fleeting interactions felt all the sweeter, and at the same time, more sorrowful.” 

5 romcom couples to match

Roxter and Mr Wallicker aren’t just competing with the memory of Mark Darcy. We’re weighing them up to see whether they can join Bridget in outshining five of our favourite romcom couples…

1. Anyone But You: Bee and Ben

This silly-sexy romcom, inspired by the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing, blends enemies-to-lovers and fake-it-till-you-make-it tales. Fallout from a hookup turns law student Bee (Sydney Sweeney) and finance bro Ben (Glen Powell) into sworn enemies, until they wind up at a destination wedding between Bea’s sister and Ben’s childhood best friend. With everyone in the wedding party trying to play matchmaker, Ben and Bee agree to pretend to reconcile. The ridiculous couple start staging a series of movie-inspired “sexy” and “romantic” moments, but it turns out that Cupid has a very particular set of skills, like Liam Neeson in Taken, and he will find you…

Also watch: For more enemies to lovers, try the Catherine Zeta Jones-George Clooney movie Intolerable Cruelty, and the Taming of the Shrew-inspired Deliver Us from Eva, with LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union.

2. Crazy Rich Asians: Rachel and Nick

Based on Kevin Kwan’s 2013 novel of the same name, this prince and the pauper-style fairytale romance centres on Chinese-American economics professor Rachel (Constance Wu), who finds out that her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) is practically royalty back home in Singapore. He’s not just rich, he’s crazy rich, and a cruel anonymous campaign begins to put Rachel “in her place”, including leaving a dead fish in  her hotel bed, notes accusing her of being a gold digger, and even having a private investigator dig through her past. But Rachel has much more in common with Nick’s mom Eleanor than she realises, and the harassment is grounded in some painful experiences behind closed doors. Like a fairytale hero and heroine, Rachel and Nick must draw on their kindness, wits and their belief in true love to overcome the dragon of disapproval. 

Also watch: For a princess-meets-pauper take on love, watch Hugh Grant’s bookshop owner character falls head over heels for Hollywood royalty, played by Julia Roberts, in Notting Hill.

3. The Holiday: Iris and Miles

This cozy Christmas romantic comedy doubles up on love, pairing Kate Winslet and Jack Black as Iris and Miles, along with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law as Amanda and Graham. Iris and Amanda swap their houses in the UK and Los Angeles, hoping for a festive break with a difference … and they wouldn’t say no to a holiday romance if you’re offering. While there’s plenty to enjoy about Amanda and Graham, it’s usually Iris and Miles who win viewers’ hearts – through the power of friendship and a shared obsession. Love creeps up on them as Iris and Miles bond over Iris’s determination to help Amanda’s neighbour, Arthur (Eli Wallach), to walk again so that he can get up on stage to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award – while Iris rediscovers her leading lady potential by watching Arthur’s favourite Hollywood classics. And we get to fall in love with Miles’s kindhearted humour, intelligence and boundless energy along with Iris.

4. Two Weeks Notice: George and Lucy

Daniel Cleaver is a hilarious sleaze, but before Hugh Grant could play against type so deliciously in the Bridget Jones movies, he had to become a romcom legend. In this fizzy office romance and enemies-to-lovers tale, Hugh plays playboy billionaire property developer George Wade, who locks horns with environmental lawyer Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock). Impressed by her expertise, George hires Lucy as his Chief Counsel, promising to allow her to direct funding to community causes at her discretion. But George doesn’t just need a legal advisor, he needs help with everything, every day. His and Lucy’s lives become deeply entangled without either of them being aware that they’re falling in love. It’s a tricky act to pull off, but it really works because George and Lucy don’t fall easily. Even when George complains to Lucy, “Before you came into my life, I could make all kinds of decisions, now I can’t, I’m addicted, I have to know what you think!” Lucy shares exactly what she’s thinking: “George, I think you are the most selfish human being on the planet.” 

5. Definitely, Maybe: Will and ?

Ready for a love story in reverse? With divorce looming, political consultant and dad Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds) tells his daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin) the stories of the three great loves of his life, using fake names to spin a How I Met Your Mother-style story in which she has to guess whether “Emily” (Elizabeth Banks), “April” (Isla Fisher), or “Summer” (Rachel Weisz) is her mom. First, we’d like to applaud Will’s pulling power, because that’s quite the trio. Second, what a ruse! As we sift through each story, there are romantic red herrings and clues aplenty, including an inscribed copy of Jane Eyre, a diary with a shocking revelation, and a career-ending article. But as Will tells his story, one of the three women begins to stand out to the point that we no longer care whether she’s the mom or not, because by romcom rules, she’s The One. 

Stream Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy now, along with Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and Bridget Jones’s Baby.