Based on the novels by Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones is a series of British romantic comedy films starring Renne Zellweger in the lead. The three films, which were released over 16 years, successfully grossed over $756 million worldwide on their $100 million budget.

What do the critics have to say?

Sharon Maguire directed the first and last episodes, and BeebanKidron directs the second, so it’s women telling women’s stories. The project first started as an independent film until Hugh Grant and Colin Firth joined on board.

Initially, the film did not start out as a commercial film but rather an independent venture. A single woman working in New York has been a selling concept ever since Carrie Bradshaw became a columnist on Sex and The City. Fortunately for them and for us too, because the film had all the elements to be the commercial success that it is today.

The first film, “Bridget Jones Diary”, is to date one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Loosely based on Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the film reached 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Robert Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of a possible 4. The other two Bridget Jones films: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby fall somewhere short of the first.

While discussing the second film, Robert Ebert points out that it mostly contains comedic episodes that have little or nothing to do with the script. The franchise gains momentum with the third Bridget Jones’ Baby film, with Sharon Maguire reprising her role as director. The film went on to win two awards – ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards in the “Top Box Office Movie” category and EDA Awards in the AWFJ Hall of Shame category.

Should you stream it or skip it?

Bridget Jones is a delightful series that succeeds on almost every level. It’s not groundbreaking with its storyline, there aren’t things you haven’t seen before, but the sheer warmth of the character makes it so likable. Bridget is a woman trying to balance love and make it huge in a city. It beautifully shows the kind of peer pressure that families exert to settle down.

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a huge disappointment. Even though Renne Zellweger is fabulous reprising her role as the confused Bridget, the film lacks all the elements that made the previous film so good.

Bridget Jones Baby is very good compared to her second opus. Bridget no longer tries to be a parody of herself. Instead, she seems genuine in her goofiness, lovable and funny sides, and Renne Zellweger brings out the character’s vulnerabilities well.

The songs themselves ate well but often missed the mark due to their abrupt placements in the film. Nothing beats Hugh Grant and Colin Firth’s “It’s Raining Men” battling the streets of London in the first film. Overall, the music is catchy.

Movies have their ups and downs, but overall they’re a very endearing and better watch than most rom-com movies. In our opinion, STREAM IT! Bridget and her blue soup deserve total love.

Where can you watch it?

Bridget Jones Diary and Bridget Jones Baby are available on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Bridget Jones: Edge over Reason is available on HBO Max. It is available for rental and purchase on iTunes, VUDU and Google Movies.

To throw

The Bridget Jones cast stars Renne Zellweger as Bridget, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, Patrick Dempsey as Jack Qwaint and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver. Other cast members include Jim Broadbent, Germany Jones, Sally Philips, Emma Thompson and many more.