Bridget Jones 3: Well beyond reason

It looks like Renee Zellweger will dust off her diary and star as Bridget Jones for the third time.

ISLAMABAD: Just when you thought the estrogen charged assaults a la Bridget Jones Diary (2001) and Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason (2004) were enough to put audiences’ in a satiated coma (forever), think again. If Carrie Bradshaw and her cohort of glittering girlfriends can take their shenanigans to the movies (twice) then, by the same logic, so can Jones.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the Jones — a slightly up-market version of Vicky Pollard (see “Little Britain”) — will be appearing on the silver screen once again as Working Title Film executives have confirmed they are moving ahead with the third instalment, which can only mean one thing for Renee Zellweger: There is no longer a need to fit the size zero image which seems to be expected of female celebrities these days, instead Zellweger can eat to her heart’s content in order to morph into the voluptuousness that is Bridget Jones. Zellweger reportedly gained up to 20 pounds to play the role in the past.

However, this slight inconvenience definitely paid off for the actor; the first Bridget Jones film hit theaters in 2001 and grossed $281 million internationally, while the 2004 sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason earned $262, according to the trade magazine. In March, Helen Fielding, who wrote the Bridget Jones novels which inspired the films, said she had begun working on a third book.

While the plot of the film has not yet been revealed, British actor Colin Firth who stars in the film gave a little hint, “I can tell you that Bridget and Mark can’t have children, I think that’s the way it goes on.” Mark Darcy (played by Firth) is the antithesis of all things Bridget — this essentially means he’s responsible, normal and well adjusted. But this doesn’t stop Jones: “So then she makes the huge mistake of going back to Daniel Cleaver [Hugh Grant] for long enough to get pregnant. And I think he dumps her, and she’s left stranded, and guess who comes back to rescue her,” stated Firth.

So because Mark Darcy isn’t viable when it comes to babies, the immediate alternative is to cheat with Hugh Grant’s character? Do surrogacy, insemination, or adoption have no place in her life? If what Firth said holds true, Jones is sending a strong message to all her female peers. Also, anyone who leaves the gentle Firth for any sputtering role played by Hugh Grant, who relishes the sound of his own voice, ought to give child-rearing a rethink.

More details regarding the upcoming film will be released shortly.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2011.