I was looking forward to watching this last night after going out for a Valentine's Day dinner with my husband. I enjoyed it more than he did, but even I was a little disappointed.
Bridget herself is still herself, which is both lovely and frustrating. We can cheer for messy, soulful, lit-from-within Bridget while still wishing she would have learned how to use a comb and a bit of product by now. It's sometimes hard to buy this character as a serious and supposedly brilliant TV producer, and her re-entry into the work force after four years out of the loop comes too easily. Thank the stars for Perfect Nanny Chloe and the appealing young actress who plays her. Where was she when my kids were little?
The London settings are charming, including Bridget's chaotic and colorful house in a picturesque (and no doubt Posh) neighborhood. It's a little hard to feel sorry for a woman who has a fireplace AND a free standing claw foot tub in her bathroom The side characters add humor and zest. Top prize to Emma Thompson as her long-suffering doctor. Leo Woodall is impossibly appealing as the Boy Toy. The kids are adorable, particularly the poignantly Mark Darcy-esque little boy. Colin Firth's silent, comforting presence as he seamlessly drifts into and out of scenes and moments is a moving, deftly deployed touch. The movie is at it's best when confronting loss, and continuing to live after, with and beyond it.
As to Bridget's bond with son Billy's rationalist science teacher, a veritable Captain Von Trapp with his whistle (and just as gentle and musical under the surface)? I liked the character and actor, and thought they had nice chemistry. But I would have preferred to have seen more of Hugh Grant's Daniel Cleaver rather than spend time with two new potential partners in what will certainly be the final chapter of the saga. Daniel's bond with Bridget and her kids after all these years is a joy to witness. Grant is never better than when playing the lovably irascible, naughty, aging lech. I wanted more of him, and of them.
That was the main problem, for me. It took three movies for Bridget to marry her Mr. Darcy, making that trio of films one long story with a narrative arc and conclusion. Then came this movie. It's not that it's ending is unsatisfying, as least not for Bridget. But it was for me as a viewer and witness to her story. I wanted a narrative structure that brought things full circle, and instead I got one big circle and then another, smaller, slightly overlapping one. And I get it, that's life. It happens. But it made the movie feel rushed and like a bit of an overreach.
It's an enjoyable movie and full of delights. I just wish it had taken a different tack.
