Boost for maturing actresses’ prospects

ZELLWEGER. Feistily funny portrayal.

Fans of the Bridget Jones film series have been clamoring for a new “chapter”—and their fondest wish is finally being fulfilled with “Bridget Jones’ Baby.”

We caught the cinematic update recently and were frankly caught off-guard by how relatively more mature lead star Renee Zellweger looks these days.

Other stars in age-conscious and even age-leery Hollywood may have balked at all that “honesty,” but it appears to be A-OK with Zellweger, who embraces her character’s maturity and fecundity with her feistily funny portrayal.

Old beau

In the new film, Bridget is now a top TV news producer and resigned to a life of single-blessedness. In just one month, however she “unintentionally” finds herself “overtaken by events,” and spending a night with her old beau, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), and on another “accidental” occasion, with an American tech magnate played by Patrick Dempsey.

Bridget chides herself for being so generous with her affections, but soon stops thinking about her lapses—until she discovers that she’s pregnant! The rest of the movie’s storytelling then involves Bridget’s admittedly clumsy efforts to find out who her “baby daddy” is.

The male leads do well, but the film clearly “belongs” to Zellweger, as it should. In the process of proving her chops as a maturing romantic-comedy star, she shows how well she’s mastering the tricky art of being funny and “meaningful” at the same time.

Her felt and funny portrayal is also a boost for the prospects of other maturing actresses, because it indicates that they don’t have to look “eternally young” to sustain their effectivity and popularity.