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Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Movie Review

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is a 2025 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Morris and starring Renee Zellweger. It’s a lovely, very strong sequel.

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“Bridget Jones, it’s time to live“

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Bridget Jones finally has some luck in her life – she has a great job as a screenwriter, her family and a new boyfriend. But then she needs to make some adult choices as this boyfriend is half her age. I am not the biggest fan of rom-coms, but I have always liked this particular franchise. It’s one of my mom’s favorite series, which is why it will always hold a special place in my heart.

I am so glad to say that this fourth entry is by far the best one since the original and the only sequel that I genuinely enjoyed. The other two movies were both overly immature and even ludicrous in their plot, but this one is much more mature while still having the British humor and charm intact.

Renee Zellweger is just phenomenal in this role that was literally made for her. It’s impossible not to love this woman as she is so sweetly endearing but also quite grounded. This film sees her story develop in very realistic ways that made the entire movie feel like a refreshingly welcome respite from the previous two entries that were way too silly for their own sake. Bridget’s arc is terrific and I was rooting for her to find happiness throughout, which is a testament to strong character development.

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They killed off Colin Firth’s character, which was necessary to have another film. This led to Bridget being single again and dating this much younger guy played so capably by the reliably charming Leo Woodall. This was excellent casting. But I was so glad when she left him and chose an older man to be her partner, which made the movie very believable.

That man is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. While I did love his work here and the character was quite likable, even more could have been done with him. The two had such a strong chemistry that they needed more screen time together. Still, their scenes were suitably romantic and tender.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy focused on her children way too much. Those scenes were quite sweet, but overwhelming in number. I would have personally reduced the runtime by a quarter and that would have made the film a bit more polished and engaging. It’s well made and it has that charming, almost holiday-like feel to it that defines this franchise, but I wished to have seen more humorous situations.

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The humor is great here, but too sporadic. Hugh Grant fared best in terms of comedy and some of his lines were very funny. The ending is wonderful and earned in its emotions. The overall plot is familiar, but well executed. It’s one of those films that are so endearing and so lovely that I can easily forgive it for its evident flaws.