Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy has been a hit across generations – our writers reveal what character means to them

NEW Bridget Jones flick Mad About The Boy has landed in cinemas and looks sure to bridge the generations as it attracts viewers both young and old.

Bridget, played by Renee Zellweger, is a widowed mum of two after the death of Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy – but she dates toyboy Roxster (Leo Woodall), then Mr Wallaker, a teacher at her son’s school played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

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Oh, and love rat Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is back, too.

Here, two Sun writers, of different generations, give their verdicts . . . 

GEN X

By Jane Atkinson

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WHEN author Helen Fielding’s first Bridget Jones book came out in 1996, I was in my early twenties.

My friends and I were your typical Bridgets.

We were a similar age, drank too much Chardonnay, smoked cigarettes and wiggled our bums as we flirted with the fun Daniel Cleaver types in the office.

And that’s why we loved her — she was us.

We worked hard in our first “proper jobs” and, because there was no Tinder, dating started in the office and the messy, but oh, so much fun drinks afterwards.

Thankfully, the lack of digital photos and Facebook means there is little evidence of us looking rough on a night out.

That meant that, just like Bridget, we could be so carefree. But we wanted to settle down, too.

The ultimate goal was being taken on a weekend away and, even now, when one of us goes away with our other halves, we still call it a “Bridget Jones mini break”.

The mates that I met years ago in the office have been through thick and thin together and are, just like Bridget’s pals, still the firmest of friends.

Post-sex hair

And so on Thursday, just as we have done for each of her previous films, we got together to compare our lives and hers.

Bridget is now in her fifties.

She, like us, has more confidence, has progressed at work, owns a home, has kids, has sadly lost a parent and — like some of my friends — is a widow following the death of hubby Mark Darcy.

But she is still so much fun, is still foul-mouthed and still joyfully scatty.

The big pants are gone, lacy numbers are in and she doesn’t care who sees her ruffled post-sex hair thanks to her relationship with toyboy lover Roxster.

This was the only part of the film that jarred for me — not because of his age, but because he was also too immature, daft and soft for a woman like Bridget.

Like us, she is still friends with some of the lovable office rogues she once dated, and we laughed out loud as Daniel Cleaver came out with constant smutty remarks and still referred to her as “Jones”.

Bridget had always made us believe that when one part of your life starts going OK, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

But this final movie ended on such a happy note because Bridget has grown up, weathered the storm and found happiness.

That will give hope to Bridgets everywhere.

GEN Z

By Emily Webber

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SWIGGING Chardonnay from the bottle, always trying a fad diet and swearing — the original Bridget Jones is horrifically outdated and makes a Gen Z-er like myself wince.

While many of us, like Bridget, are focused on our career, my generation doesn’t spend our free time searching for a Mr Darcy.

We are too busy juggling our Google calendars to fit in a workout class before heading into the office and posting in WhatsApp group chats to organise sober dinners.

So for me, Bridget is a dinosaur: an emblem of a previous generation who drank too much and wasted their Sundays nursing a hangover on the sofa.

We’re far more likely to post our morning run club on our Instagram story than undertaking a “walk of shame” home the morning after the night before.

I was four when the first film was released in 2001. As I approach the age of Bridget in that movie (she was 32), her life bears little resemblance to my own.

But I’ve grown to love Bridget as she offers a glimpse of life from my mum’s generation of Ladettes and a world before social media captured every aspect of your life.

Romcom magic

Now a mum of two and a widow after losing her husband Mark Darcy, we got to see her back in the dating saddle, like many of my mum’s now divorced friends in a world of online dating.

One scene sees Bridget stuck up a tree on London’s Hampstead Heath with hunky heartbreaker Roxster and dashing Mr Wallaker coming to her rescue.

The fact that she had two handsome, single knights in shining armour was clearly sprinkled with some romcom magic.

In the real world, Bridget would have been lucky to get a second glance if she fell on the Tube!

But the icing on the cake was Hugh Grant, who returned triumphantly and hilariously as a very unwoke Daniel Cleaver.

Inappropriate and over-sexual jokes aside, I fell under his spell as he taught Bridget’s kids how to make a dirty b***h cocktail.

As well as laughter, I cried, too, including when Bridget let off balloons and wrote a letter to her late husband Mr Darcy, who was tragically killed in a car accident overseas.

With tears rolling down my cheeks, I remembered why me and all my Gen Z friends love Bridget so much, despite our differences.

She represents truly living life to its fullest — and that’s a lesson all of us Gen Z-ers can learn from.