Spoilers forward for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.
Reward the rom-com overlords, Bridget Jones is again for one closing chaotic chapter.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is a shifting adaptation of Helen Fielding’s closing novel of the identical identify, which sees Bridget (Renée Zellweger) dealing with the premature dying of her husband, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). 4 years a widow, she embarks on a brand new relationship with a youthful man, 29-year-old Roxster (One Day and The White Lotus star Leo Woodall), placing her on a brand new path as she navigates being a widow and single mom.
After assembly Roxster — whereas caught midway up a tree on London’s Hampstead Heath — Bridget approaches her relationship life with extra of a assured, liberated perspective than in earlier movies. Whereas giving us full circle moments to the unique Bridget Jones’s Diary and its sequels, Mad Concerning the Boy flips sure iconic moments on their head, with Bridget recognising trendy shifts in cultural conversations round intercourse, relationship, and relationships. For one, it is deeply refreshing to see how Bridget Jones features in a relationship that includes an age hole — he is 29, she’s in her 50s.
Sadly, Mad Concerning the Boy fumbles this illustration, primarily in a slightly regrettable key scene. Having constructed a whole movie round Bridget Jones discovering liberation whereas relationship somebody youthful, Mad Concerning the Boy makes the maddening resolution to then have her apologise for it.
It’s been 9 years because the final sequel, Bridget Jones’s Child, 24 years because the unique film, Bridget Jones’s Diary dropped in cinemas, and 30 years since creator Helen Fielding penned her first Bridget Jones column for The Impartial. And but, watching Bridget and Roxster’s relationship within the Michael Morris-directed Mad Concerning the Boy, we should query whether or not the characters and storylines have moved on in any respect in the case of age-gap relationships via a nuanced, progressive lens.
Bridget’s age-gap relationship is colored with an pointless disgrace
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
The actual downside with Mad Concerning the Boy‘s portrayal of Bridget’s age-gap relationship begins when it ends. After months of bliss and intercourse, Roxster abruptly ghosts Bridget. Finally, he’ll reappear, however she rebuffs his efforts to reconcile, deciding their completely different ages create an excessive amount of distance between them. In spite of everything, he is navigating what he needs out of life, significantly his obligations, whereas she has many already, her youngsters specifically. There’s a gulf between them in the case of emotional maturity. Thus far, so comprehensible. However then the disgrace units in, and the movie reaches a disappointing second for the protagonist.
When Bridget converses along with her late husband Mark in her grief, she’s understandably falling aside on the seams. However then she tearfully apologises for her “toy boy” dalliance. Positive, this second is wrapped within the form of guilt that accompanies grief, nevertheless it feels disappointing that Bridget is not allowed to acknowledge her personal sense of enrichment right here. As an alternative, the final we see of Bridget reflecting on her romance with Roxster is throughout a late-night private shamefest.
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
Bridget Jones is an undeniably iconic character in the case of ladies’s empowerment, particularly in intercourse, relationship, and relationships, even within the face of the errors and progressive critiques we would now make of her. Over time we’ve got come to phrases with the normalised sexual harassment and fat-shaming current within the books and flicks, from bum-patting within the work lifts and Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver clearly abusing his energy as Bridget’s boss. And don’t get us began on the fixed obsessing over Bridget’s weight.
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In order the franchise strikes into the 2020s, wouldn’t it have been wonderful to see Bridget really feel liberated regardless of age-gap relationship not understanding, as a substitute of apologising for it? Wouldn’t we’ve got rejoiced if we’d seen her replicate on how her relationship with Roxster made her really feel, as a substitute of ending the storyline with stigma and disgrace? Grief and guilt over shifting on is necessary to convey, positive, nevertheless it felt like the connection between Bridget and Roxster was packed away as a mistake, not a compelling studying curve.
Hugh Grant and Renée Zellweger in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”.
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
Sadly, this isn’t the one irritating instance of age-gap relationship stigmatisation within the new Bridget Jones film. Grant’s return because the devilish Daniel is dealt with effectively, together with his inappropriate behaviour dialled means again and extra heat and humour than ever earlier than. Nonetheless, past his function as Bridget’s shut buddy and confidante, Daniel is portrayed as a tragic determine himself, a job defined as the results of his continued penchant for relationship youthful ladies — one thing that Bridget scoffs at, satirically. Regardless of publicly praising his youthful girlfriend, he confides in Bridget concerning the lack of intimacy in his life, how lonely he feels. Why couldn’t Daniel’s relationships – whether or not with a youthful companion or not – have additionally discovered a path of some type of contentment, as a substitute of extra disgrace?
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renée Zellweger in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy”
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
The social script that relationship somebody youthful is frivolous and finally results in the older companion feeling ashamed of themselves runs via the film, resulting in Bridget’s final ending being a romantic reference to trainer Mr Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor). That Bridget has to ‘find yourself’ in a relationship in any respect looks like a missed alternative for rom-com disruption right here, however the movie appears to be explicitly championing our protagonist relationship somebody older than Roxster. Mr Wallaker’s character is likeable, positive, nevertheless it’s arduous to not eye-roll when the movie decides the one means Bridget would possibly discover her blissful ending is thru a traditional relationship with a person her age — and that every other “dalliance” is one thing to be ashamed of.
Mad Concerning the Boy had loads of age-gap references to attract from
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
Mad About The Boy’s lack of nuance and compassion in direction of a lady’s experimentation with an age-gap relationship is made all of the extra conspicuous by the truth that the theme has lately been handled in a a lot much less problematic trend throughout a number of motion pictures. The Thought Of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, noticed a 40-something divorcée have a steamy, cute affair with a boy band star — with the social stigma acknowledged and explored — whereas Netflix’s A Household Affair used comedy to discover a relationship between characters of various ages performed by Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron. Probably the most subtle current portrayal of an age-gap relationship, although, is Halina Reijn’s Babygirl.
It’s arduous to not evaluate Bridget’s age-gap relationship with Babygirl, which has generated its personal conversations round ladies relationship youthful males. It might be marketed as a salacious, sexually-charged age-gap relationship between Nicole Kidman’s Romy and Harris Dickinson’s Samuel, nevertheless it’s an train in dismantling disgrace and validating want. By their relationship, we see Romy discover and have fun her personal sexual boundaries and their age-gap relationship as a car of sexual and emotional empowerment. This type of finesse would’ve been revolutionary in Mad Concerning the Boy if used to painting Bridget Jones’ relationship with Roxster and the impression relationship somebody youthful had on her sexual id. Their dalliance didn’t must final for all times or utterly outline her – we all know that almost all of relationships don’t – however the best way wherein it ended and the best way Bridget navigated her emotions of rejection and grief may have honoured the teachings she realized from the connection. Mad Concerning the Boy comes near doing so, however – finally – no cube.
Destigmatising age-gap relationships on display screen is integral to feminine empowerment
Credit score: Jay Maidment / Common Footage
Sexologist and relationship therapist Madalaine Munro explains to Mashable that the best way wherein these age-gap relationship storylines are portrayed onscreen work to both strengthen or dismantle outdated stereotypes round feminine sexuality.
Munro provides that when executed successfully, these representations can problem “the pervasive fear that aging leads to irrelevance in romantic and sexual relationships” in addition to reinforcing the concept “it’s never too late for self-discovery, deep connection, and fulfilling relationships.”Vital relationship parts comparable to emotional intelligence, communication and mutual respect are foundational, no matter age or gender,” she says.
“These storylines matter because they disrupt limiting perceptions about women’s sexuality, particularly in later life,” Munro explains. “When Hollywood handles these themes effectively, it helps shift cultural perceptions, offering audiences more expansive representations of love, sex and relationships beyond traditional norms.
“However, when mishandled, such stories risk reinforcing harmful tropes, either fetishising or shaming older women’s desires rather than celebrating them as natural and valid.”
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy explores self-discovery via age-gap relationships however falls right into a slightly conventional trope of shaming a lady for her wishes, and failing to view a non-conventional relationship as helpful in its personal means. Whereas we loved seeing Bridget letting her freak flag fly, maybe future rom-com heroines needs to be given the house to really feel really empowered by this expertise, bringing much less disgrace and stigma to those relationships, on and off display screen.
Bridget Jones: Mad Concerning the Boy is out now in cinemas and streaming on Peacock.
