Classic--Bridget Jones's Diary

or: A real chick flick.

One word to sum it up: Bonkers.

Let's start off the new year of reviews with a movie I watched before Christmas (man, I am getting slack with these!). What do you get when you put a porkier-than-usual Renee Zellweger, the ever so dreamy Hugh Grant and an arrogant and cynical Colin Firth in one movie? Well, apart from getting a good combo of actors, you get Bridget Jones's Diary, quite possibly the Bible-movie for the real woman. Or, rather, it's the movie that deals with the pain of dressing up like a prostitute to a party which was once a costumed one, but they cancelled that idea without you knowing. Now come on...we've all had bad dreams like that, now haven't we?

Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man, and her many imperfections. As a New Year's Resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss (Hugh Grant) takes an interest in the quirky Miss Jones. Thrown into the mix are Bridget's band of slightly eccentric friends and a rather disagreeable acquaintance (Colin Firth)who Bridget cannot seem to stop running into or help finding quietly attractive.

Being a chick, of course I had this magnetic attraction to this movie. But the thing was, I loved it more than I thought I would. Considering I'm not really the biggest fan of Renee Zellweger, she really did it for me. While she was just another American actress, she seemed to fit the role of a British 'spinster' quite well, with her high pitched accent and fearless pulling off of her frumpy wardrobe. Everything that Bridget does seems to end in disaster, and while this kind of behaviour is usually what you'd expect of a ditzy stocky character, Bridget is one the audience can really feel for. Instead of just laughing your head off at her antics, it's more like that 'aw, bless her' kind of attitude. If a woman hasn't found herself in a Bridget-situation at least once before she dies, then she hasn't lived.

Bridget Jones's Diary has a really clever script, which carefully intertwines slapstick comedy with clever jokes that never get tiresome. Along with that, it has an always interesting love triangle which develops as the film progresses. While the two men Bridget has within arms reach may be complete asses, you can't help but hope for the best with whoever she chooses. Colin Firth is a particular standout, as he is so deadpan and arrogant in this movie that it makes you ponder on how many good bones the man has in his body...not many, if I were to guess. After watching this movie, I wondered what happened to all these good chick flicks. Yeah, even the crap ones are enjoyable, but this one is actually hilariously funny. Which is a trait that many of the recent chick flicks seem to forget.


THE VERDICT: Awesome chick flick for 15 years and up, with a charming performance from Renee Zellweger as our lovely heroine.

8/10

Cold Mountain

I had borrowed Cold Mountain from a friend way back in April, and now, close to the end of August, I have finally gotten around to watching it. Yes, I know I may just be the slackest person ever. Oh, and I should probably tell you that I didn't watch it just because Cillian Murphy is in it for two minutes. I watched it because it basically looked like an R16 version of Gone with the Wind. And no, I don't mean that in a bad way.
We follow the story of a wounded Confederate soldier named Inman (Jude Law) who struggles on a perilous journey to get back home to Cold Mountain in North Carolina, as well as to Ada (Nicole Kidman), the woman he left behind before going off to fight in the American Civil War. Along the way, he meets a long line of interesting and colorful characters, while back at home, Ada is learning the ropes of managing her dead father's farm with Ruby (Renee Zellweger), a scrappy drifter who assists and teaches Ada along the way.

People always go on about how Cold Mountain was made just as an Oscar movie. That could be true, as it reeks of Oscar, but who says that is a bad thing? The film deserved Oscars. The performances from all of the ensemble cast, but especially Zellweger, were all pitch perfect and somewhat true to the time period as opposed to the modern take many stars try to bring to stories like this. It's one of the most classically done period pieces that would still appeal to the modern audience. A lot of period films that have come out in the past ten years have either succeeded in capturing the period but not the audience, or capturing the audience but not the time period. Cold Mountain so wonderfully does this, with it's brutality and also an interesting love story.

Amazingly, this is the first love story which I have enjoyed in a while. Forget that new comedy Going the Distance, Ada and Inman show you how the long distance relationship is done. Their relationship was so interesting that I was shocked to tears in the end...not something that a romance does easily for me. This movie is just so beautiful through and through, and does well to capture the hardships and horror cause by the Civil War. I do like to think of this as the film Gone with the Wind would have been if it had been made in more recent times.

A beautifully made and acted film, a classic romance that will sweep you away yet shock you to the core.

10/10