Bridget Jones is back, but this time, she’s navigating a journey we never expected—grief. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy takes the beloved character into uncharted territory, tackling widowhood, single parenthood, and the messy, unpredictable path of moving forward after loss.
For fans of the franchise, the loss of Mark Darcy (yes, THE Mark Darcy) is a gut punch. Colin Firth’s absence looms over the film, and like Bridget, we feel the weight of it. But true to Bridget Jones fashion, the story is not just about sadness—it’s about resilience, awkward missteps, and, of course, wine!
We’ve seen Bridget make bad decisions before—whether it was chasing after the wrong man, showing up in a Playboy bunny outfit, or attempting blue soup for dinner. But in Mad About the Boy, her struggles hit different.
Bridget isn’t just a fumbling, lovesick 30-something anymore. She’s a mother, a widow, and a woman trying to rebuild her life after losing the love of her life. This is a version of Bridget we’ve never seen before—one that carries grief in her eyes but still manages to find moments of joy, humor, and, yes, romance. The film beautifully captures how grief doesn’t always look like endless tears and dramatic breakdowns. Sometimes, it’s sending a flirty text and immediately regretting it. Sometimes, it’s laughing at the wrong moment, or pretending you’re fine when you’re absolutely not. It’s a mix of sadness, absurdity, and unexpected hope—all things that Bridget Jones does exceptionally well.
One of the most powerful aspects of this film is how it normalizes the messiness of grief. There’s no "right way" to grieve, and Bridget proves that whether it’s crying over old memories, taking a risk on a new love interest, or drowning sorrows in a bottle of wine, healing is never linear.
In a way, this film does for grief what Bridget Jones’s Diary did for being single in your 30s—it makes it okay to not have everything figured out. It reminds us that life, even after profound loss, still has room for laughter, love, and new beginnings. So many films about grief focus solely on the sadness, but Mad About the Boy gives us something more—permission to grieve in our own way, to find humor in the darkest moments, and to keep moving forward, even when we don’t know exactly where we’re going.
Bridget’s journey might be fictional, but her struggles feel real. Whether you've experienced loss yourself or simply love a story about resilience (and ridiculous dating mishaps), this film delivers a heartfelt, funny, and deeply relatable take on love, loss, and life after. So grab your tissues, pour yourself a glass of wine, and get ready to laugh, cry, and—most importantly—feel seen.