There are some movies that become a favorite and there are some that become a tradition. Bridget Jones's Diary is one that has become both. I find myself compelled to watch this movie every New Years, which seems especially appropriate considering the film begins on this day, as Bridget finds herself once again single and being fixed up at her mother's annual turkey curry buffet.
I have always related to Bridget in more ways than I care to admit, mostly in her insecurities, though apparently some of Bridget's other thoughts have crept into my subconscious. I told someone the other day that I was so annoyed by a co-worker that I wanted to staple things to her head. Only during this years viewing did I realize that the original thought to do this came from Bridget - apparently those people who did not understand why I found this a completely normal thing to say have not watched this movie as much as I have.
While enjoying the crazy antics Bridget manages to get up to and getting to drool over Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are reasons enough to give this movie a go, it is the ambitions to start anew, even when things seem to be really mucked up that make this such a good movie to watch at the beginning of the year. Let's face it, New Year Resolutions are hard to keep up with past the first couple of weeks. And if you are anything like me, once a slip up occurs, it is damn near impossible to start up again until the clean slate of another year's beginning rolls around. That's why this movie is so charming to me. Bridget is far from perfect and she knows it. That doesn't stop her from trying to be better every chance she gets. Mark Darcy may have the best line in the movie, but it is the feeling that Bridget is on her way to believing this of herself that makes watching this movie on January 1st a tradition worth keeping.
