It’s a truth widely accepted that for a romantic comedy to hit the mark, it needs to strike a chord with its audience – often in ways that are all too familiar – and for me, no character epitomises this better than Bridget Jones.
After four beloved films spanning two decades, the iconic movie protagonist has concluded her journey with the final film, ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’. In light of this swan song, I took a trip down memory lane back to the very first flick.
To my astonishment, even come 2025, Ms Jones (played by Renee Zellweger) still perfectly encapsulates the trials and tribulations faced by today’s women.
And we’re not just talking about her infamous oversized knickers, which, let’s face it, were never quite as enormous as made out; it’s her doomed dalliance with Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) that really reflects the woes of contemporary courtship.
For those who don’t make a habit of regularly falling back into the warm embrace of this romcom classic, Bridget Jones’s Diary tracks our heroine’s attempt to revamp her life before the new year rolls around – see, she couldn’t be more relatable if she tried.
The Daily Star reports part of her big plan for change is a fresh dating manifesto, which states: “Will find nice sensible boyfriend to go out with, and not continue to form romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, peeping Toms, megalomaniacs, emotional f***wits or perverts. And especially will not fantasise about a particular person who embodies all these things.”
As with all New Year’s Resolutions, she quickly ditches the plan. Bridget sparks up a relationship with her boss Daniel Cleaver, who – naturally – embodies everything she doesn’t want in a partner.
Although admittedly charming – played by Hugh Grant during the peak of his noughties romcom run – Daniel spends more time talking about Bridget’s body than having real conversations with her. When he speaks to her about non-bedroom subjects, he is condescending and dismisses the idea that she might actually be a smart, capable woman. He’s a nightmare.
Not to mention that their relationship begins when he sends her an inappropriate (to say the least) email about the length of her skirt. He later gropes her in their company lift, which she unbelievably takes as harmless flirting.
Soon enough, they bloom a sexual relationship that brutally ends when Bridget visits Daniel and finds another woman naked in his bathroom.
As if that wasn’t harsh enough, Daniel soon reveals that he is engaged to the ‘other’ woman, on account of her being “so confident and…young.”
As I was watching the breakup scene (and fuming for Bridget because how could he?) it dawned on me that she was experiencing a horror all too familiar to women dating today. In fact, we’ve even come up with a word for it: ‘Situationship.’
The Gen Z term came to life in the age of dating apps, which 2001 Bridget did not dabble in, but it perfectly suits her relationship with Daniel.
A ‘situationship’ is a relationship that lays in the grey area between being ‘casual’ and ‘committed.’ It is often characterised by some level of sexual intimacy but comes without the labels you’d expect in a committed partnership.
Gen Z often joke on social media that there is usually one person in the fling who is silently hoping for commitment, while the other is satisfied keeping things casual. In Bridget’s case, she gets the short end of the stick.
Her hopes for a deeper relationship become obvious when the pair go on a getaway and Bridget says to herself: “This can’t just be shagging, a mini-break means true love.”
While on the trip, she then attempts to pry a label out of him by asking: “Daniel, do you love me?” He defers the question and woos her back into ignorant bliss.
Their passionate affair ends shortly after, leading Bridget to connecting with her true love Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), who ticks off her resolution of finding a “nice sensible boyfriend.”
The hapless heroine has long served as a relatable character for millennial women because of her carefree attitude, but now you can add one more item to the list: romcom queen Bridget Jones was, sadly, in a situationship.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is available to rent on digital storefronts.