Analysis of the film Bridget Jones Diary Movie 1 (2001)

Bridget Jones Diary is a British-American romantic comedy directed by Sharon Maguire and written
by Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies, and Helen Fielding. It was released on April 4th 2001 and was a
great success, grossing over $280 million worldwide. A romantic comedy is a hybrid genre in which a
romantic story is emerged with and presented in a comedic way. Typical features of the genre are a
typical boy meets girl scenario, they are the protagonists of the film. Often centered round a female
character and normally set in an urban environment, often in a workplace where an encounter could
happen. Bridget Jones Diary is of preference to females as women stereotypically tend to emphasize
more with the emotions shown in the film and usually females see themselves as the character in
the film including image and feelings. Similarly couples enjoy watching this genre as they can relate
to the problems and emotions that appear in the film. Also the target audience is teenage girls as
they can relate to boy problems and as they are light-hearted, humorous plot lines they are easy to
watch and usually the male character is attractive so appeals to teenage girls and other females. The
combination of love and humor is an escapist fantasy which is appealing to the target audience.
An example of typical conventions of the genre shown in the film is in the opening two minutes of
the film we are introduced to the main character, Bridget Jones, played by Renee Zellweger. The
non-diegetic sound being the voice-over is a typical convention of the genre and also gives an insight
into the characters personality and feelings. Instantly we recoginse she is a dis-organized, chaotic
character from the discrete clues such as the overflowing wash basket and messy kitchen with
dishes and food on the side boards. Also she talks about how she wants to lose 20 pounds as she
steps of the weighing scales which imply she is a self-conscious character this is said through the
narration. Also she keeps a diary of all her life events and significant things that occur in her love life
which is typically what women may do.
Most romantic comedy couples are hesitant to become romantically involved, because they believe
that they do not like each other, or because of social pressures or positions. This typical convention
is shown in Bridget Jones Diary as Bridget feels hesitant as it is revealed at the start of the film, she
has a crush on her boss at work so does not agree with herself that this is appropriate because of
the professional position she is in. Another typical convention of the genre is the film being set
around Christmas, Thanks Giving or New Year where family and friends get together. This particular
film is set around New Years Eve and this is when Bridget has an affair with her boss which is when
Bridget most defiantly falls head over heels for him but then later on realises the feelings are not
mutual when Daniel Cleaver (her boss) gets engaged to another woman. Mark Darcey is then
introduced and finds Bridget attractive but Bridget finds him vile. This scenario is a typical
convention of the genre that characters end up being separated due to arguments and two
conflicting males with interest in a female.
The sound-track for the film uses popular music such as Chaka Khan- Im every woman, Jamie
ONeal- All by myself and Gabrielle- Out of reach. The effect of using popular music is that it makes
the audience sing along and feel good and if they are in a good mood straight away it is more likely
they will enjoy the rest of the film. Although some of the songs are gloomy and sad, people know the
songs so will still enjoy them.