The “Bridget Jones” franchise is long beloved by fans, due in extremely large part to Renée Zellweger’s portrayal of the title character. So, yes, the actress was a resource director Michael Morris turned to a lot while making the fourth film — and there was one particular insight from the Oscar winner that he says unlocked the whole thing.
Now streaming on Peacock, “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” catches up with Bridget Jones as a mother of two and, sadly, a widow. Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) died four years earlier on a humanitarian mission in the Sudan. Don’t worry though, he still pops in on the film in small ways.
As Bridget gets used to her new normal, we once again find her caught between two men — Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver isn’t one of them, but don’t worry, he’s back too — and the woman herself is as relatable as ever.
For director Michael Morris, there was one specific conversation he had with Zellweger that proved to be the key to her latest iteration.
“We talked about how we find the balance between all the comedy and all the fears and the joy, but with a way to present her having to deal with grief and let go of something and move on in her life, and how we were going to locate that,” he explained to TheWrap.
“And one thing she said earlier is, ‘Bridget doesn’t feel sorry for herself.’ She doesn’t wallow in something, that’s not who Bridget is,” he continued. “And her saying it so definitely like that made me go, ‘Oh my God, you’re right. This is not going to be that kind of film. She’s going to have to deal with it, but it’s not going to be in a self-pitying kind of way.’”
Given the success of the past three films, Morris definitely felt the pressure of taking the reins on the fourth. But he made a huge effort not to think about that aspect of the process.
“There was endless pressure when I allowed myself to think about it like that,” he said. “And so you’d sort of vacillate from being, ‘Oh my God, this is a Bridget Jones film,’ and then you’d go, ‘Nope, let’s look over here. It’s a film about a woman and her friends living in London, and her family.’ You know what I mean? So the more I could keep focused on what this film was going to be, the easier it was to not sort of obsess on all the other stuff.”
Of course, Morris also had the help of Zellweger as more than just a star who knew her character; she was also an executive producer on “Mad About the Boy,” and he made sure to take full advantage of that resource.
“Particularly as we’re in prep and planning for this thing, I want to make sure that everything is run past her, that she’s comfortable with where we’re going,” he recalled. “Because that’s the thing about this film, is that it wants to be, and what I really long for it, is to be something that makes long-time fans of Bridget really happy. They get to see her again, and feel that atmosphere that the first three films have done so well.
“But also to bring Bridget, and therefore us, to a slightly different place, a slightly new experience watching this particular version of the film,” Morris continued. “And for that, I really wanted Renée to to always know where we were with that, what I was going to be asking of her character. She was completely invaluable.”
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” is now streaming on Peacock.
