The Fifth Annual James Proclaims Advent Calendar of Christmas(ish) Films – Door 12

Having included Bridget Jones Diary in last year’s Christmas(ish) movie countdown, I felt it only right that I revisit the 2004 sequel to explore its Christmas(ish) credentials.

As is often the case with sequels, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is not as good as the original movie. It might even be reasonable to suggest that it isn’t a very good movie at all. I still haven’t read any of the Bridget Jones novels so I couldn’t comment on whether it is an especially faithful adaptation of the source material, but it does, at times, feel like a rehash of the original movie, with some gratuitous silliness thrown in for good measure.

Nonetheless it still made plenty of money at the box office and regardless of the merits of the plot, Rene Zellweger remains immensely likeable as the eponymous diarist, Hugh Grant continues to enjoy himself as the roguish Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth makes stilted awkwardness an art form.

Score for Christmasishness

As this movie notionally continues in the same vein as the original by following a timeline from January 1st until December 31st, one would imagine it would begin and end on quite a Christmassy note. But whereas the festive season quite emphatically bookends the first movie, to the extent that some commenters felt I wasn’t generous enough with my Christmas(ish) rating for that, the sequel really does only pay lip service to the New Year, and so while it does begin and end on a fairly festive note, both scenes are quite short, and have very little to do with the overall narrative of the movie. So, sadly, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason really isn’t very Christmas(ish) at all.