Bridget Brogues Again

J: That's funny, 'cause it rhymes with Jones.

M: Oh, it does! I totally didn't think of that when I said it.

J: Super professional over here, guys.

M: Whew. Okay. Blog. So... we had a most excellent surprise when we popped in the second of Miss Bridget's Diaries.

J: That we did! The second DVD came with - wait for it - an interactive quiz!

M: A quiz!

J: It took us a couple tries to get the answering process right, but by the second or third question, we had it down. What was the point of it again?

M: I believe it was the key to finding your perfect match.

J: That's right! We had to pick between Darcy and the other guy. Hugh Grant.

This is sort of creepy.
Kind of like our blog.

M: No wait, I got this... I got this... it's... wait for it... Daniel Cleaver.  What do I win?

J: Nothing, I'm afraid. I'm still confused as to why they didn't just name him Willoughby.

M: Too obvious.

J: But Darcy!

M: Charming.

J: Fine.

M: What was I calling him when I read the book? The other guy. Bingely? Bingely. Because I pictured him as more of a drinker. At least I read the book! [laughs]

J: I am pretty pleased that you finally read it. My mom, I believe, has yet to get through Pride & Prejudice, which, if you're new to the scene, is what Bridget Jones's Diary is loosely based on.

"No I love you more!"

M: Quite loosely. So how 'bout you catch us up a little bit on where we find ourselves on the second of Miss Jones's Diaries?

J: Will do! The second Bridget Jones's Diary...

M: Wait, Willoughby? Isn't it Wickham?

J: Shit. [attempts to correct previous typo]

M: No no! I want that TYPED.

J: [grimaces]

M: I want proof that the girl who read it most recently at least sort of understood it!

J: [types reluctantly]

M: Much better.

J: As I was saying, the second film follows Bridget through some bumpy parts of her relationship with her new beau, who happens to be pretty much perfect throughout, though Bridget doesn't know it at the time. Of course. I thought this movie was a bit sappier and less relatable than the first one.

M: Mmhmm. A little... much.

J: Agreed. It's been awhile since I've read the books, but I'm pretty sure this one departs from the original a bit more than the first film does. It seems like they tried a lot harder to make Bridget ridiculous, which for me, backfired.

M: [listening to A Land Down Under] Is this a live version?

J: Not that I know of...

M: It's not the original.

J: Damn.

M: Where do you find this stuff?

J: Spotify? Same place I found "The Wallflowers" who were not, in fact, the Wallflowers at all.

M: [laughs] Right. Where were we?

J: What was your impression of the second film as compared to the first?

M: Um...uh... um...

J: You don't know have to say anything.

M: [laughs] Can we watch some more Daniel Craig movies? No. No, no. We need to watch a Welsh movie, because they have been severely underrepresented in our blog. Random tangent.

J: A fair point, nonetheless. That will be our next challenge. At the present moment, though, we're still talking about Rene Zellweger.

M: Well, two things. I thought Daniel Cleaver, though much funnier in this film, was far less appealing. Secondly, when you said you couldn't remember anything that Rene Zellweger had been in previous to Bridget Jones's Diary. Two words: Jerry Maguire.

J: Shit.

M: A third thing! We have to admit that the photo we used in the previous blog entry was not in the first film, but was indeed from the sequel.

J: Something we honestly didn't realize until we reached the appropriate scene.

M: But at least we realized it! Women of our word.  Or something. Women of character.

Normal.

J: Your authors, ladies and gentleman. It's true, the photo of Hugh Grant pointing over Rene's shoulder does not take place until the second film. WE'RE SORRY, OKAY.

M: [laughs] All caps. So Welsh movies! Like serious! For serious.

J: It'll happen, I promise. It's gonna be fine. We have to say something about brogues.

M: Brogues. Right. Uh...

J: FINE. There were brogues in this movie.

M: Can we talk about the Jon Stewart/Hugh Grant feud thing? 'Cause that's pretty cool. And timely. Maybe we can just link it. I dunno. I mean people can just Google that.

Hat.

J: Google that, people. It's pretty entertaining. And short.

M: Yes. Anyways, where were we? Welsh people?

J: Usually.

M: [cackles]

J: So the second movie, not as good as the first.

M: Not as interesting as Welsh people.

J: Definitely not. See it if you love Bridget Jones, but don't bother if you don't.

M: Well said. Here, here.

J: Also, we learned from the quiz that my perfect match is neither Daniel Cleaver nor Mark Darcy. Apparently I'm above all that.

M: Yeah, that's good. That's good. Tasteful.

J: We'd better go. This post has been brought to you by Meredith's martini-making skills, aka martini night.

M: Don't get me started on the double-o diet.

J: Don't worry.

M: Tune in next time for, um, for greater recognition of the beautiful country of Wales and its people. Like little Joe Allen! And others. Until then...

J: Come caroling on Saturday!

M: Yeeeeaaaahhh!

J: Goodnight, folks.

M: Can we link the Joe Allen name, like a hyperlink? [falls to floor laughing]

J: Only for you.

Bridget Jones' Brogue

J: I fully intend to be a large, British man when I grow up... you should probably say something about how that's in reference to a previous photo caption...

M: Done!

J: Good, good.

M: On that note...

J: I'm ready! Are you ready? I think I'm ready....

M: I just want you to type it. 'Cause typing's hard.

J: And here I am, folks! At the keyboard! Er, the keypad? WTF is this...

M: A... laptop?

J: That's it.

M: You know, I used to never know if it was a labtop or laptop. Do you set it on the lab table or your lap? It perplexed me for a very long time.

J: Honestly. I've never heard you admit to that. I'll have to feed you Jameson more often.

M: [laughs] I can't do the thinking and the typing!

Literally, this happened to me a lot. 
See that happy smile? Good times.

J: Never fear, drunk Jenna is here!

M: That needs a theme song.

J: Damn right it does. Also, I don't think I've ever sat on this side of the couch before.

M: It's pretty awesome. It's like the captain's chair. "Hello, Captain!"

J: Hello, folks! Here we are at Blog with a Brogue, trying to get our shit together.

M: That was a very long introduction, I have to say.

J: They're getting longer. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

M: Or a great thing.

J: This week/month/holiday season, we'll be talking about one of my favorites, Bridget Jones's Diary. We've watched the first (Meredith for the first time), and will later...

M: "Like a virgin..." I'm sorry, that just asked for it.

J: It did. I agree. Anyways, we will later be watching the second one, which Meredith has also not seen. We may manage to blog about that one tonight, or we may pass out on the floor. Remains to be seen.

M: Wow, we've had quite an intermission. Not that you know that, audience. We've eaten sandwiches... [laughs]

Our favourite reindeer jumper.

J: They were delicious!

M: So Jenna. Um. [laughs] I understand you've seen Miss Jones's Diary a few times now.

J: That is correct.

M: What keeps bringing you back to this delightful comedy?

J: Truthfully, it's a few things. First, I can't lie, I love a movie with British accents. It is, after all, why we're here. But beyond that, not far beyond that, there's Colin Firth, who, in the 90s, was quite the heartthrob. Finally, I can totally, 100% relate to Bridget Jones for many, many reason, and seeing someone validate all of my awkward on the big screen was just too good to pass up.

M: I do recall laughing out loud at the opening song and its uncanny resemblance to what I can only imagine you having done in your cozy Tennessee apartment. Regarding the British accents you mention, did you find it terribly disorienting that Miz Zellweger is not, in fact, British and yet played the title character?

"If you look just over the horizon, you can barely 
make out my last shred of self-respecting decency.
 Also, what remains of your career." 

J: Though I can't remember when I first saw the movie, I do have a sneaking suspicion that I had no idea she was American. I don't recall having seen her in anything before, and I do vividly remember being very shocked when she slimmed down to her "usual weight" for awards season. For me, Rene Zellweger started and will remain Bridget Jones. Now, of course, I'm embarrassed that I didn't hear her accent as false, but I'm older and wiser now.

M: In your defense, I did think it was "rather convincing" [in faux British accent].

J: Whew.

M: So, because we always do, how 'bout a brief plot run-down?

J: [rolls eyes] Fine. Because you haven't seen this.

Workplace flirtations. Never a good idea.

M: I mean, I hadn't...

J: Er, right. So this is basically a 90s play on Pride and Prejudice. Bridget Jones is a young professional working at an editing house. She's single, she smokes, and she'd like to lose some weight.

M: Although, to be fair, she looks completely normal and not even remotely overweight in the film.

J: Having read both the books, I vaguely recall this being a point of contention when the movie came out - they literally dropped the weights in the movie. In the book, she weighs more. Anyway, she falls in love with her boss...

I'll always remember you this way, Rene.

M: Always a good idea.

J: She gripes to her friends, goes on holiday, and in the end up with exactly who she deserves.

M: Well, given that we had QUITE the introduction, I think it's about time that we wrap this up. Any last thing you'd like to add for our faithful readers, Miss Collins?

J: Thank you for saying miss. The lady at Spangles didn't, and I'm very upset, still. About the movie, not really. It's really just an easy, fun movie and the books hold up well, even after you've seen it. Stay tuned for our opinion of the sequel!

M: I thought that said sequin at first. And scene.