Reel Review: Grief, Love, and Lust are Center Stage in Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy

Bridget Jones and her diary return to the screen in the series’ fourth installment, however this time things are a bit more serious. In Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, we revisit Bridget after her seemingly happy ending marriage to Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Now with two kids and a home, Bridget is grieving the loss of her life partner. No need to fear, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is still in the picture, just not romantically.

While the third movie in the series went a bit off the rails and was far too zany for most audiences, this finale seems far more fitting. Bridget is raising her two children and falling back into old habits. Fed up with her circumstances and encouraged by her friends, Bridget hires a nanny, gets back to the work she loves, and decides to start dating again. This time she meets Roxster (Leo Woodall) who helps get her and her children out of a tree they got stuck in at the park. The much younger man then reaches out through a dating app to see if this could be a relationship worth pursuing.

While Roxster and Bridget has a fun fueled date and evening together, the spark is short lived. Roxster ghosts Bridget over fears around their age gap and comes back around but it’s too late. Their short lived fling may not be a love for the ages, but it showed Bridget that women deserve to be desired no matter their age and that shouldn’t stop her from seeking love again. Their interaction is a testament to the idea that some people come into your life for a reason, even if they’re not meant to stay.

This installment of the franchise dives into the idea of grief, both for Bridget and her kids. While she doesn’t feel overwhelmed by the loss, it shows up in smaller ways. Her kids constantly asking every man they meet if they will be their new dad, to finally hiring a nanny to help out at home, this is a transitional time. In the end, it is her friends that encourage her to return to work and the dating scene in an attempt to rebuild her life. There is no sense of urgency and enforces the idea that life is an ever changing experience lived in phases.

Hugh Grant has some heartwarming and charming moments, but his character has still yet to change his ways. Although Bridget could revert back to her intertwined and complicated relationship with Daniel, she has grown too far to go back to something that is not right for her. While some fans might disagree with the man she does end up with, it is exciting to see Bridget happy once again and in a positive and peaceful state.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is a heartwarming look at love, loss, and aging in a world that tries to tell women that there is a timer on their lives. Bridget has her flaws but is still able to achieve a successful career, happy family, and love for a second time. This film feels like a proper goodbye for the character and wraps up her story in a touching and complete way.

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is streaming on Peacock.