Bridget Jones - Page 2

[Aquaduct]

I haven't read the 2nd book, but I think the 2nd movie made her look too silly and clueless. In the 1st she at least had some self-assurance, which of course is appealing. She didn't need to be really socialy sophisticated or even intellectual, but I admit loyalty is a very appealing quality. I don't think that was hugely tested though, not enough time in a movie of course.

I just think Helen Fielding didn't create a well rounded life-like character. I actually don't think any of her characters really came to life in the book so nothing just against Bridget Jones.

But at least she showed some backbone in the first movie when she finally saw thru Daniel. I really liked how she started to slowly twig to him, yet was still very tempted by him because of his sexual appeal and devil-may-care attitude. I think women do fall for those kind of guys he represents, so in that way she was very human. And I think the 1st movie conveyed that dawning of consciousness about Daniel better than the book. I liked the moment in the movie when they were in bed together and she suddenly asked him if he loved her....and he wouldn't answer her properly. I noticed that wasn't in the book.

[crazy_eights]

I haven't seen the second movie, but in the book Daniel was a very minor character in that one and Bridget wasn't chasing after him. A shame that they had to make that part of the dramatic tension of this movie. Probably more about the movie draw of Hugh Grant than anything.

At least in the book, the point was not that Bridget was stupid and klutzy, but that she was real. Not a Hollywood, er, London, stick figure with the right body, right clothing and correct attitudes for Mark Darcy's society and station and that was why he liked her. AND she knew how to have fun, something that he didn't know much about. He states in the book that when he is with her he feels alive and she saved him from his sterile, 'perfect' life. Sounds a shame that they missed this point in an overthetop Hollywood version of the book.

[tinybutterfly]

Okay, I finally got to go see the second movie!

First I saw the movie Bridget Jones and liked it SO much, I bought the book. Then I bought it when it came out on DVD and it is one of my favorite chic flicks! Then I bought the second book and couldn't wait for the second movie.

I really enjoyed it. It's fluff and and it's fun and it made me smile. I would have loved it if they'd had the interview with Colin Firth and the whole deal with Pride and Predjudice...but it would have been complicated! Yep, I'll snag it on DVD.TB ( who is also thinking of picking up Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth.)

P.S. I love Bridget. She may not be complicated or deep, but she is sweet and funny. And she always picks herself and tries again, no matter how disasterous her life seems to become.

[MamaMonica]

I read both both books and laughed so hard! They were great. I haven't seen the movies, though, because I can't see how the funny prose images could be transferred to the big screen and don't want to be disappointed. When she made the blue soup it was so funny.

[Verity]

The second movie was enjoyable, but it couldn't capture the charm of the original. I didn't expect that. I did love Bridget's line in that scene in the elevator with her parents. It was one of the few things that made me laugh out loud.

OTOH, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are always worth the price of admission.

[pioneermama]

The opposite of body dysmorphic syndrome

I didn't think she looked fat in Bridget Jones... maybe it's just me but I really didn't see it and was baffled throughout the first movie and then the second.

[crayon]

I just watched White Oleander and Renee looked sickly thin. I like her when she looks healthy, but then again I think most women look good when you cant see ribs or all the bones in their arms.

ETA: Maybe she did have to gain weight, to get to her normal weight- KWIM? Maybe she is like most hollywood starts and eats a bit too little. So maybe she just ate normal and looked normal.

[LisainCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Aquaduct

and since she is quite overweight, especially in the 2nd movie, (she was attractive in the first movie, but not so much in the 2nd).

How in the world can you say that she is "quite overweight"? She said she topped out at 145--which for her height is not considered "quite overweight" at all. Here is here weight in a BMI calculator--which showed her in the "normal" range:
http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm
to check her weight put in 145, and 5'5 female

Here is an article about the gain and then her loss down to 100 pounds:
Normally blonde and wholesome looking, Renee Zellweger is shocking industry insiders and fans alike with a new goth-like look, including dark hair, ivory skin and a startlingly stick-thin figure of about 100 lbs. stretched over her 5'5" frame.

Although she went brunette for a part in the upcoming film The Cinderella Man, co-starring Russell Crowe, a bony body was not required for that role. In fact, sources close to Renee, 35, say the actress -who added 30 lbs. to her then-115-pound body to reprise her role as quirky, plump-ish Bridget Jones - has been dieting fanatically since filming for the Bridget Jones sequel wrapped last February.

http://www.starmagazine.com/news/61502

[Meli65]

Gosh, I hated the Bridget Jones movie. I read the book (just the first one) and thought it was so funny and charming. Then saw the movie (the first one, again) with high hopes and found it humorless and charmless -- Hugh Grant was the only good part for me, and that whole bit about how he comes back at the end for her -- ugh. Hollywood mucking it up, at it's worst, I think.

Read some interesting reviews which said, why do women like this movie and this heroine, esp. when she is not smart, not funny, not charming? Is it fun for women to see unlikeable women getting the guy after all? I don't get it at all.

As my Aunt Fran would say, "I wouldn't go next door to see that movie."

[Verity]

I love Bridget because she's NOT the smartest, funniest, or prettiest woman in the room. Yes, I LOVE the idea that you don't have to be gorgeous and stick-thin to get the guy!!!

[Viola]

Originally Posted by Aquaduct

Bridget Jones doesn't appear to have a lot of great personal qualities, and since she is quite overweight, especially in the 2nd movie

But I don't think she was quite overweight. In the first book she topped out at 131, according to chellemarie. Was she heavier in the second book?

[Aquaduct]

Well, I actually don't mind women to be well-built, and I dislike the cat-walk ultra-thin look....though for some strange reason I seem to often end up with very slim women. But if Renee Zellwiger was 145 pds (what's that in Kilograms..I picture kilograms much better?) then to my taste she would be at her best at about 130pds. 115 is much too little, I agree. I think 145 is about 65 kilograms, so about between 58 and 62 kgs would be best. That's more like 135 I suppose.
But in the end it is the personality that really matters. Bubbly and fun is good.

[crazy_eights]

Finally went to see the movie last night and thought it was quite funny and enjoyable. The one thing I did miss from the book was that in the movie it appeared that Mark Darcy was embarassed of Bridget, while in the book part of the reason that he liked her was that she was 'refreshing' in the way that she didn't put on pretenses and "called 'em like she saw 'em". That and the fact that it seemed they were really trying to make her look horrible. Bridget Jones in the book to me was 'everywoman' that is not model perfect but still cute, funny and real. That is why women loved the book. It made them feel that if B.J. was 'good enough', they were too. In the movie she was a shlump who even when she tried to look nice couldn't pull it off. Shame.

Oh - and it did seem that Renee Zellwegger sort of gained weight in weird places. So while not technically 'quite fat' she was quite top heavy and had a round face making her look chubbier than she was. In the Thailand scenes you could see that her legs were still thin even though she had a tummy. maybe that is what happens when you gain weight quickly on a Krispy Kreme diet (reportedly how she gained the weight).

[Viola]

Originally Posted by Mom2six

So while not technically 'quite fat' she was quite top heavy and had a round face making her look chubbier than she was.

She always has a round face which makes her look chubbier than she is. At least that is what I remember commenting about when I saw the first movie. I couldn't tell by looking at her face if she was heavier or not because I had never thought of her as being skinny. But after seeing Chicago, I changed my mind.

Yeah, I think rapid weight gain usually does go into the abdomen. I guess she looked like an apple instead of a pear.

[Yarnia]

gosh I loved the first movie and cackled thru the whole thing. I didn't think she looked fat either.
As a huge Pride and Prejudice fan (and all Austen really) I had a great time pointing out the parallels to my poor husband. I hadn't even realized that the book was loosely based on the Austen work until I saw the movie.
Having Colin Firth actually play "Mr. Darcy" was genius.

oh and she did look like her weight came on differently in the 2nd movie. It's probably not a good idea to do that to your body repeatedly.

I did not like that she was SO clumsy and hapless in the 2nd. I preferred the first version, a normal woman with everyday faults that we can all empathize with.