Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Director:

Sharon Maguire

Writers:

Helen Fielding (novel)
Helen Fielding (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's Monday morning, Bridget has woken up with a headache, a hangover and her boss.

Plot:

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Plot Keywords:

Betrayal | Male Female Relationship | Bittersweet | England | Britain

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 29 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 18

7:00 PM

BRAVO

Cast

Renée Zellweger	...	Bridget Jones
Gemma Jones	...	Bridget's Mum
Celia Imrie	...	Una Alconbury
James Faulkner	...	Uncle Geoffrey
Jim Broadbent	...	Bridget's Dad
Colin Firth	...	Mark Darcy
Charmian May	...	Mrs. Darcy
Hugh Grant	...	Daniel Cleaver
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Fitzherbert
Felicity Montagu	...	Perpetua
Shirley Henderson	...	Jude
Sally Phillips	...	Shazza
James Callis	...	Tom
Charlie Caine	...	Handsome Stranger
Gareth Marks	...	Simon in Marketing

Also Known As:

Bridget Jones (UK) (informal title)
Journal de Bridget Jones, Le (France)
Diario de Bridget Jones, El (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Diário de Bridget Jones, O (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Bridget Jones - Schokolade zum Frühstück (Germany) [de]
Bridget Jones - elämäni sinkkuna (Finland) [fi]
Bridget Jones dagbok (Sweden) [sv]
Bridget Jones naplója (Hungary) [hu]
Bridget Jones' dagbog (Denmark) [da]
Bridget Jones' dagbok (Norway) [no]
Diario di Bridget Jones, Il (Italy) [it]
Imerologio tis Bridget Jones, To (Greece) [el]
Journal de Bridget Jones, Le (Canada: French title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SX | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (cut) | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 (cut) | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 (cut) | USA:R (certificate #38033)

Filming Locations:

Borough Market, Borough, London, England, UK

Company:

Little Bird

Trivia:

In order to make her English accent seem more natural, Renée Zellweger retained it on set even while not shooting. Hugh Grant once noted that he did not hear her speak in an American accent until the wrap party, after the film was completed, where he heard her speak "in a very strange voice" that he soon found out was her own natural tone.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Bridget comes home from the party, we can clearly see a crew member's reflection in a picture frame.

Quotes:

Richard Finch: Why do you wanna work on television?
Bridget: I've got to leave my job because I shagged my boss.
Richard Finch: Fair enough. Start on Monday.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mayo: (#1.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

FLY ME TO THE MOON

ridiculously hilarious

Being a long time fan of the BJD books (three years and counting), I had nothing but high hopes for the movie version. I was lucky enough to get into a sneak preview last night, and I was not disappointed. The movie, like the book, has the most hilarious lines and moments, and each of the actors portrayed their characters so well you couldn't imagine anyone else in that part. Renee Zellweger IS Bridget, there is just no arguing it. No other actress could have pulled off what Renee did in this movie. Hugh Grant makes for an excellent Daniel, who is completely two faced and has a smarmy sort of charm that makes you want him just as badly as Bridget does. Colin Firth is a superb Mark Darcy, but that was a given because the character was practically written with him in mind - as all avid BJD readers know, Mark Darcy's character is a play on the Mr. Darcy Firth portrayed in Pride and Prejudice.

Some of the more hardcore fans of the book may be disappointed with all the missing jokes and scenes, but to film the entire book would have left us with a 10 hour movie. The writers did an excellent job distilling the essence of the novel, and the finished product has all the charm and wit of the original. The audience, many of whom I'm sure have never read the book (and many of whom, surprisingly, were male), laughed nonstop throughout the film, and everyone seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. As for those of us who have read it, I do believe that this is one of those rare book-to-movie jobs that was really spot-on, and everything that was noticeably changed in the process only makes the movie better. So go see it, it's hands-down one of the best movies of 2001 so far.