A review by justjacq
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

challenging funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Womp womp. This stirred up soooo many feelings, and it was a little painful to get through. I truly had to start skipping the openings to her "diary entries," because it was ridiculously exhausting to hear her list her weight, alcohol intake, caloric intake, etc - and to rate each of them good or bad. Yikes. This movie was always a little bit of a guilty pleasure for me, and now, I'm not even sure if I'd enjoy it at all (besides 90's Colin Firth, obviously). In a sense, I get the hype - it was really witty, had good humor, and some good friends in it, but the bottom line is Bridget is pretty awful. And the saddest part is that this was sooo "relatable" when it came out - it still rings too true. Too many girls knew exactly what it felt like to be ruled by diet culture, questioned about their love life, reminded constantly about their "biological clocks," and bombarded by the media pushing tall, skinny women as the ideal attractive mate. Maybe our culture has changed a little bit, but not much, and there is so much room to improve the way we treat women and how we encourage them to look at and treat their bodies. A little part of me liked the nostalgia this had, whether good or bad, and I did still chuckle out loud at multiple points. I really wished there had been more time with Mark Darcy. It felt like the book really dragged out the Daniel Cleaver phase.