2001, 1 hr 40 min., Rated R for language and some strong sexuality.�Dir: Sharon Maguire. Cast: Ren�e Zellweger (Bridget Jones), Colin Firth (Mark Darcy), Hugh Grant (Daniel Cleaver), Jim Broadbent (Bridget's Dad), Gemma Jones (Bridget's Mum), Sally Phillips (Sharon 'Shazzer), Shirley Henderson (Jude), James Callis (Tom), Embeth Davidtz (Natasha), Felicity Montagu (Perpetua).

I knew nothing about this phenomenon from across the pond prior to seeing the film, other than it seems like a middle class version of HBO's "Sex and the City," meaning that the women don't talk about male spermatozoa or feel the need to buy $500 purses to fit in a shallow culture. Still, there is plenty of sex talk and use of the magic word beginning with an F (the movie is rated R, so there's the warning for you prudes), but more on an earthly level than Sarah Jessica Parker and pals.

Based on Helen Fielding's wildly popular series about the title character, a 32-year-old singleton who drinks too much, smokes too much and rambles on and on while endlessly searching for the perfect mate, going into Bridget Jones's Diary I fully expected a chick flick, especially considering that I was one of two men in the half-full theater. While mostly pleasing to women, there were enough qualities to help me ensure men that they need not cringe when their better halves point to BJD as the Friday night movie of choice.

Ren�e's a cutie, and looks better in BJD with the 20 extra pounds than her slimmer self for Hollywood's sake. I can't wait until this trend wanes someday and they make fashionable the Marilyn Monroe-Sophia Loren-Ursula Andress figures again. Speaking of Brits, Minnie Driver's a doll, too, but she wasn't any less adorable in Circle of Friends than Good Will Hunting, in my opinion.

What worried me most going in was Ren�e's British accent. For some reason I can accept a Brit playing Southern (Vivien Leigh the most famous example) easier than the other way around. I wish I was English. I love their accents, their wit, their smarts, their women. . . . sorry, getting off track. Anyway, it's tough for Americans to believably adopt the proper Queen's English, I suppose. But Ren�e's accent wasn't distracting, and only once did I feel it was off.

What more distracted me was that Bridget embarrasses herself constantly and is very self-defeating. Good for the film, Ren�e can pull it off with charm and wit, whereas other actresses (Sandra Bullock, for example) come across sloppy and degraded. What's really sad is that with all her doom and gloom feelings of being a singleton for life, she's still two up on me, with two men who fancy her.

And the machismo of Hugh Grant and Colin Firth should be more than enough to woo my XX chromosomed counterparts. Grant must have had fun being the darling jackass, and Firth is able to come across as the quieter, inevitable hero. His character proves that first impressions are not always what they seem. Now, if I could just convince the dozens of women-folk out there to see that about me!

The verdict:

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