BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY (2025)

Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) returns for her fourth outing in sombre sequel Mad About the Boy as a widow and mother of two rowdy but lovable children. Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whose ghost sometimes appears to her, has been gone for four years and Bridget’s still mourning the love of her life.

Despite her change in circumstances, this older Bridget isn’t so different. She’s still frazzled and clumsy, burning spaghetti and failing to brush her hair. Her daughter, Mabel (Mila Jankovic), shares her own ditziness, while her son, Billy (Casper Knopf), has inherited his father’s stoic nature. The two pre-teens seem to understand their mother’s chaotic life, even when they don’t know when to stop making their own.

The first act is surprisingly downbeat as Bridget mourns the fourth anniversary of her husband’s death. The story starts in a reflective mood as Bridget and her friends reminisce about lost loved ones and the process of ageing. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy manages to be incredibly emotive without needing to try too hard.

While Darcy is no longer in her life, ex-lover Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) returns from the dead, babysitting Bridget’s kids. The diarist’s friendship group (Sarah Solemani, James Callis, Shirley Henderson, Sally Phillips) also return to encourage Bridget to get back out on the dating scene.

In a powerful moment with her father (Jim Broadbent), Bridget realises that life isn’t about surviving, it’s about thriving and making the most of the time we have left. So, she goes back to work as a TV producer on a daytime women’s interest show and signs up for Tinder.

But it’s not the dating apps that lead Bridget to her sexual awakening. When her kids get stuck up a tree in the park, two men come to help, and she finds herself being helped down from the tree by the gardener who moonlights as a biologist, Roxster (Leo Woodall), and an upright whistle-wielding science teacher called Mr Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Bridget finds herself falling for the younger, underwritten Roxster. The film mostly manages to skirt the sensationalism and clichés of such an age-gap romance. But it’s hard to root for Roxster because he doesn’t have a lot of personality besides being young and nice to look at topless. He’s clearly written for the female gaze, bringing pie to dates and jumping into pools to save dogs. Meanwhile, Mr Wallaker is a more well-rounded character, brought to life by Ejiofor’s sensitive performance.

Of course, the course of true love never runs smoothly for Bridget Jones. She struggles to balance her whirlwind romance with Roxster (worrying their age will come between them), and the challenges of motherhood. After she hires nanny Chloe (Nico Parker), Bridget worries they’ll prefer this more organised younger woman. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy doesn’t pretend that women can have it all and that being a mother comes easy.

At over two hours long, the pacing does struggle and the middle act sags. When it becomes obvious which angle Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is going, the previous half an hour almost feels like a waste of time. The ending also ventures into over-sentimentality after a mostly grounded 90 minutes. The screenplay can’t help but give everyone a Hollywood-style ending and ignores the messiness of real life. It’s a safe and satisfying climax that feels like a suitable goodbye should this be the last time audiences see Bridget and her friends.

Renée Zellweger knows Bridget Jones better than anyone. She’s now played the London-based spinster through many stages of her life over 24 years, so she feels as real as any friend you’d meet at work or at a dinner party. Zellweger never overplays the scenes, which makes her grief feel even more heart-shatteringly real. She perfectly plays the performative cheeriness that many women, especially mothers, wear as a defence mechanism.

Hugh Grant (Heretic) swans into the film for a few scene-stealing scenes as caddish Daniel Cleaver. His fading yet ever-charming playboy is a good balance to the more sombre tone of this movie. He makes an early appearance as a surprisingly good babysitter, despite teaching Bridget’s kids how to make cocktails and play poker. In a later appearance, Daniel shows his human side, showing there’s more to the man than double entendre, model girlfriends, and sports cars. According to the actor, he wrote or improvised many of his own scenes, and it’s hard not to want to see even more of him. Surely, there is a spin-off about a ladykiller having a crisis about his own mortality as he hurtles through middle age?

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy can’t help but tip its hat to nostalgia. Characters from the previous three films pop up throughout, and it’s less about assisting the story and more about revisiting old friends. The big knickers, the wet white shirt, and the burnt dinner prove that Bridget is still the woman we know and love.

This fourth instalment in the popular franchise is a more sombre exploration of womanhood. While the first three films were light and frothy, as Bridget worried about her weight, her singledom and getting the next glass of Chardonnay. Written by Dan Mazer (I Give It a Year), Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, Shame), and original author Helen Fielding, Bridget has grown up.

This older, worn-down Bridget has bigger issues than counting calories—like balancing work, her love life, and the school run. The film also confronts the realities of being a widow and the fear that life can never move on without them. But the sincerity of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy makes it her best sequel yet. Some may miss the silly slapstick humour of past outings, but this feels like the right film for Bridget in this stage of herlife. No one wants to see middle-aged people struggling to put on their underwear and fight in fountains.

UK | 2025| 124 MINUTES | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

director: Michael Morris.
writers: Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer & Abi Morgan (based on the novel by Helen Fielding).
starring: Renée Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Jim Broadbent, Isla Fisher, Colin Firth & Hugh Grant.