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Bridget Jones's Diary

EMAILPRINTMiramax Films

Bridget Jones's Diary reviews
66
8.2 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 42 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Romance

Written by: Richard Curtis
Andrew Davies
Helen Fielding (also novel)

Directed by: Sharon Maguire

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 13, 2001
DVD: October 9, 2001

Running Time: 92 minutes, Color

Origin: UK / USA

Summary

RATING: R for language and some strong sexuality

Starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Honor Blackman, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Jim Broadbent, James Callis, and Embeth Davidtz

At the start of the New Year, 32-year-old Bridget (Zellweger) decides it's time to take control of her life -- and start keeping a diary. Now, the most provocative, erotic and hysterical book on her bedside table is the one she's writing. (Miramax)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

A triumph for all involved.

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90

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Ms. Zellweger accomplishes the small miracle of making Bridget both entirely endearing and utterly real.

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90

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Delivers frisky fun for bruised romantics regardless of age, sex or nationality.

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88

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A delightful and endearing romantic comedy with the shape and resonance of a Jane Austen novel.

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88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Made against all odds into a funny and charming movie that understands the charm of the original, and preserves it.

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88

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

The Zellweger-Firth-Grant triangle works as irresistibly as Hepburn-Grant-Stewart in "The Philadelphia Story."

83

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

An endearing comedy that could well end up being one of the year's big hits.

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80

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

The script is teasingly, pleasingly raunchy in places.

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80

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Bessed with a gleamingly polished, very funny script.

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80

Newsweek Jeff Giles

She's (Zellweger) so disarming and so deeply Bridget -- gliding between mortifying slapstick and pathos -- that she's entirely won you over by the time the credits have rolled. The opening credits.

80

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Grant is casually fabulous and very amusing, but all power to Firth the actor. He's the compleat Darcy, and he never wavers.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Cheerful, cheeky entertainment, a clever confection.

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78

Austin Chronicle Sarah Hepola

As much romantic fantasy as it is social satire, but more to the point -- it is gloriously and tear-wellingly funny.

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75

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Warm and charming and often witty, it's as good a romantic comedy as has come out for some time, with an endearing, perfectly pitched central performance that's a four-square triumph for Zellweger.

75

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Bridget's most attractive asset is that she's played by Renée Zellweger.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

As adorable and predictable a film as the Helen Fielding best-seller that inspired it.

75

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Zellweger has a ticklish furriness reminiscent of Jean Arthur in her screwball comic prime.

75

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Where the highly likable actress (Zellweger) proves most valuable is in making us adore this insecure, clumsy, contradictory creature.

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75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The film not only works better than expected but gets the important things right, starting, of course, with Zellweger's Bridget and Bridget's mind-set.

70

Slate David Edelstein

Quite likable -- even sometimes, with the squeezable Zellweger its principal object, lovable.

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63

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

95 breezy minutes that typify cotton-candy filmmaking.

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63

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's Zellweger's movie to win or lose, of course, and she succeeds without the slightest touch of Hollywood glamour.

60

Film.com Robert Horton

The movie gives us episodes from her life, and although some of them are charming and all of them well-played, I occasionally found myself wondering why I should want to be interested in this person.

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60

Variety Lael Loewenstein

Misses its mark, failing to capitalize on the staccato rhythms and sardonic wit of Bridget's inner life.

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60

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

What's right as rain with Diary is the casting.

50

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The filmmakers spend so much time milking gags they should have called it Bridget Jones's Dairy.

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50

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

I could have done without all the pushy tactics of this romantic comedy.

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50

TV Guide Ken Fox

The plot soon dwindles down to little more than a flimsy, Austen-esque comedy of circumstance.

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50

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Fans of the genre will enjoy it if they're not distracted by trite plot twists.

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40

Village Voice Amy Taubin

The three-act structure is too predictable, and at 90 minutes, feels both draggy and hacked to the bone.

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40

Washington Post Desson Thomson

How can you celebrate a movie in which Zellweger doesn't soar but simply avoids disaster?

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30

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The worst part of Ms. Zellweger's plight is that she, along with others in the cast, has fallen victim to a first-time feature director whose vocabulary doesn't seem to include the word "simplicity."

30

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

The urge to laugh is superceded by the urge to slap everybody and command them to stop embarrassing all of humanity.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 42 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rachel L. gave it a10:
This was a brilliant film! i thought it was hilerious! ive bought the box set of the first one, the second one, and also the missing bits too!

Susan M. gave it a9:
So good. So very, very good.

G.M D.K gave it a 10:
A wonderful film! Bridget Jones Diary is such a brilliant movie about how single 30 year olds survive the world of love.I loved this film and every second of it! go see it!

morris gave it a 7:
Hardly smart about relationships, but funny and cute, mostly thanks to the disarmingly wonderful Zellwegger.

Annika H. gave it a 9:
Great, I would give it a 9.5, sorry that some parts of the book don't come back in the movie. Can't wait for the next movie. Cause have seen this one about...a zillion times. Love it!!!!

Michael C. gave it a 9:
The only reason not to go and see Bridget Jones?s Diary right now is if you don?t already know the ending to "Fatal Attraction." Otherwise, get your rocker off the seat and run to the cinema to watch this movie! Okay, back to critiquing the movie. It blew me away from start to finish! In the first 5 minutes I was already in tears from laughing so much. That?s a new World record! This movie is flippin? funny and it knows it. The characters get in impossible situations that are very funny and simple situations that are even funnier. Renee Zellweger plays Bridget brilliantly, she splendid and gained 7kg?s for the movie. Well, Renee, it was worth it. This is arguably her best performance to date, a dramatic and comic one that has had so much effort put into to it literally bursts out of the screen. Hugh Grant injects the film with a shot of bad-boy personality and Colin Firth is just great. The soundtrack is also miraculous and the amazingly original one-liners are so memorable you?ll be quoting them to everyone in sight! Bridget Jones?s Diary is fun, clever, entertaining and frankly brilliant ? see it now!

Kim R. gave it a 10:
"Bridget Jones's Diary" was hilarious!

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