I loved the novel “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and have read it four times since it was published in 1996. I actually consider it one of my favorite books of all time. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that production on the movie had begun. I couldn’t wait to see it. I waited patiently for the movie’s release and immediately went to see it the day it opened. Unfortunately, it did not even compare to the brilliance of the book. “Bridget Jones’s Diary” is just another mediocre British romance comedy.Loosely based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” (and I say loose because Elizabeth Bennett never worried about the type of underwear she had on), “Bridget Jones’s Diary” chronicles the life of a slightly neurotic, mid-30s London singleton. It takes you through the trials and tribulations of finding “Mr. Perfect,” discovering “Mr. Perfect” already has a “Miss Perfect” and figuring out that “Mr. No Way in Hell” is actually “Mr. Take Me I’m Yours.” What it all boils down to is “Bridget Jones’s Diary” is just another crappy “Four Weddings and a Funeral” knock-off.There was way too much from the book (some of what I thought was the best stuff) left out in the movie. I guess you have to do that when you cast an actor in the film that the book heroine is in love with (Collin Firth, who plays one of Jones’s men, starred in a BBC production of “Pride and Prejudice” that the book Jones drools over). I recommend forgoing the cost of a movie ticket and going to the library and reading the book. It is funnier, more endearing and you will probably see more of yourself in the book than the one on the screen.
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