Bridget improves flight

Facing a 12-hour plane ride home from Europe this summer, I scrolled through movie options and came up with one I missed earlier in the year: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Oddly I had no memory of this fourth release in any theaters. Later, an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Television Movie told me why: U.S. streaming on Peacock makes it a network project here, even though it played internationally in theaters as a feature film. Watching it, I mistook it as a feature bringing back franchise favorites like Bridget’s support network of friends and stars Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant, and Colin Firth. Zellweger, who serves as a producer, already nailed the ditzy character created by Helen Fielding in her bestselling riff on dating world shifts since the late 1700s era Jane Austen wrote about. Both stories contain a Mr. Darcy, an inside joke since Firth gets to play each variation. But as characters in this new entry note, Bridget and her sexual antics go beyond anything Austen imagined. Fortunately, Fielding’s story lets Bridget evolve as the widowed mother of two without losing the warmth, insecurities, and humor that made her so relatable to other women. Fielding's story lets Bridget mature, dealing with age and grief in believable ways. Despite these heavier than usual issues for a rom-com, Austen’s influence remains under direction by Michael Morris. As expected, no one doubts the ultimate romantic pairing and fortunately

dalliances allow for a ridiculously appealing wet shirt scene.  None of this creates a masterpiece, but it does make for an appealing comedy—and in my case, a more enjoyable plane ride.