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Go to http://zocdoc.com/thetake to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today! | The new Bridget Jones movie Mad About the Boy is an emotional rollercoaster. In this video we explain...
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00:00Bridget Jones' Mad About the Boy is the brand new installment in the story of the beloved
00:03heroine. While everyone was initially excited to hear that there would be a fourth movie in the
00:08series, its release has seemingly not had the mega rom-com sparkle we might have imagined.
00:13So what's really going on with the film? Why is there an age gap romance? Why is it so sad?
00:21And why did the studio fumble what should have been a big hit? Let's unpack all of that,
00:26plus analyze the actually important message the movie and series as a whole is trying to send
00:31and what the ending really means. Many people, even Bridget Jones fans, weren't even aware that
00:37the movie was released over Valentine's Day weekend, because in the US, it was just unceremoniously
00:42thrown onto the streaming platform Peacock, instead of getting any kind of real release in theaters.
00:48While the previous two sequels in the series weren't mega hits in terms of box office numbers,
00:52they did do just fine. This film being forced into the direct streaming realm is indicative of the
00:58larger issue of studios not always being able to read the room. In addition to being a new
01:03installment in a beloved series, it loosely fits into the so-called year of the milf that propelled
01:08hits like Baby Girl, and it would have made for a perfect Galentine's Day group outing. But maybe we
01:13should just be happy it didn't get deleted for tax purposes. The biggest news around the film is the
01:18fact that Bridget's love interest from the last three movies, Mark Darcy, whom she finally
01:22married in the last one, died four years before this story begins. While the loss of Mark has
01:27come as a shock to those who didn't read the book when it released in 2013, it actually does
01:32thematically make a lot of sense. And not just in the fact that they wanted Bridget to be single
01:35for every film. We'll unpack what all is really going on there in just a sec. In Mad About the Boy,
01:40we find Bridget trying to pull the pieces of her life back together after losing Mark.
01:45Can you survive?
01:46I think so. I have to. I'm trying.
01:53She's now a single mother to two children, and at 51, feeling like she's entering a very
01:58new stage of her life. She's trying to find a path forward in a number of ways, not only out
02:03of her own grief, but also helping her children cope with theirs, while also trying to get her
02:07career back on track, and figure out what she wants her life to look like with the new card she's
02:12been dealt. It is actually impossible to do this on your own.
02:16The film does focus a lot on grief, on multiple occasions veering into total tearjerker territory.
02:22This can feel a bit depressing at times, and some viewers have felt that it's a bit too
02:26depressing for a film that they were hoping was going to help give them an escape from all the
02:30sadness around them in the real world. But Bridget Jones has always been about fully exploring the
02:36breadth of what life has to offer, the good and bad, with truth and humor. And as we'll unpack,
02:41while Bridget's grief is deep and painful, it's actually very important. In addition to her grief,
02:47the movie also deals with so many of the other pressures Bridget has to deal with,
02:51from trying to keep up and excel in the modern working world, to everything that comes with
02:56being a single mother, and beyond. She's also still dealing with image issues. And while some
03:01have felt that this was out of place, an attempt by the film to drag her back to her younger self
03:05and problems, it does actually make a lot of sense. People still very much have to deal with body and
03:10image issues, especially women who lived through and had their minds altered by the early 2000s.
03:15Resolution number one. Obviously we'll lose 20 pounds.
03:19Bridget struggled because of the untenable ideas forced upon her by society then,
03:24and that we see her still struggling with attempts to fit into today's beauty standards is totally in
03:28line with reality. What has changed with time, importantly, is her ability to realize that
03:34these societal pressures aren't good for her, or making her happy, and make the decision to focus
03:40her time and attention elsewhere. Of course, in regular Bridget Jones fashion, we pop back into
03:45her life when she's bumbling her way back out onto the dating scene.
03:49You've actually made it to the fourth stage of the five stages of grief.
03:53It's acceptance, which basically means you just have to get laid.
03:57While Mark's death might come as a shock after the last film making it seem like they were finally
04:01getting their happily ever after together, losing Mark does make sense thematically within Bridget's
04:06story. They never really seemed happy when they were actually together, and even broke up previously
04:11because of that issue.
04:13I always felt that you were never there, and I was mostly alone.
04:17They were always into the idea of being together, of what their relationship could be, but when they
04:22actually settled into a relationship, the cracks in that foundation always began to show.
04:27We always love the fantasy of us, but the reality, as we both know, is quite different.
04:33Of course, it's possible that after getting married, they did finally figure things out.
04:37And from what we learn, it does seem like that's the case. Though, of course, we're also seeing
04:41everything through the tint of grief and loss. In their relationship, Bridget has always had to
04:46come up against the reality that they would never really be together in the way she imagined.
04:51But she was always pulled in by the chance that they could make things work.
04:54And this is what adds another, quieter dimension to her grief. The loss of what could have been,
04:59of who they could have become if given the time to really try to figure things out.
05:03But as she's learned in the past, as much as she loves him, her self-worth and future aren't
05:08totally bound to Mark. And it's in this fourth installment that we see Bridget coming to terms
05:13with now, having no other choice but to figure out how to move on without him.
05:19Daniel Cleaver is still in Bridget's life, but not as a possible romantic partner.
05:23Realizing that they'd never work in a relationship, they've instead finally settled into a genuine and
05:29caring friendship, with Daniel even becoming a surrogate uncle to her kids. But of course,
05:34every Bridget Jones film must set her up with two romantic options, the fun guy and the stoic guy.
05:41This time with 29-year-old Rockstar and schoolteacher Scott. When life feels frantic,
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07:20Rich's relationship with Rockstar is the age gap relationship everyone was initially worried would
07:25make the film feel odd or out of touch. But thankfully it's handled very well and actually
07:30adds to the story. He's not just younger than her for the sake of some extra drama,
07:34but instead to function as a metaphor. They're at very different stages in their lives,
07:39and both find themselves wishing that they had a time machine to be able to change things
07:43and put them both on equal footing. But in the same way we can't go back in time and be younger,
07:48we also can't leap other people forward. We all have to take life as it comes, and live in the
07:55present. And this is why, in the end, Bridget realizes that for all of the ways they do work,
08:00they'll never truly work out. But importantly, the film isn't flippant about their relationship.
08:06Sure, they're not meant to be together forever, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have an impact
08:10on both their lives. With Daniel and now Rockstar, and even with Jack in Bridget Jones' Baby to a
08:15certain extent, the series does a great job of throwing out the old school notion that only one
08:20big great love matters in your life, and everyone else you ever dated becomes nothing to you once you
08:25find that person. Instead, we get to see how all of these guys, and their different personalities
08:30and strengths, have added to Bridget's own life, and vice versa, even if they weren't the one.
08:36And that brings us to Mr. Scott Wallacher, the reserved and seemingly distant science teacher.
08:42As with Mark, Bridget's bubbly, occasionally over-the-top personality kind of freaks him out
08:47a little bit at first, but also draws him to her. Neither's life has turned out like they had imagined.
08:52Bridget's was totally thrown off course, and Scott had always imagined that he would have
08:57children of his own to care for. They're polar opposites in so many ways, but also have enough
09:02life experience to understand that that not only isn't a bad thing, it's often a plus.
09:07You are this force, to me. Equal and opposite.
09:15She helps break through his shell to the kind and caring person underneath,
09:18and he helps Bridget's son grapple with the loss of his father.
09:22There's this decidedly not a whirlwind romance, but instead one built up slowly and based on
09:27mutual care and interest.
09:29All parents know the marshmallow is an essential tool, Mr. Wallacher.
09:36But as with every Bridget Jones movie, the story is about more than just her romantic relationships.
09:43In addition to losing Mark, in the years between installments, Bridget also lost her father.
09:48In a flashback, we see how his final wish was to implore her not to give up on herself or her life.
09:54Promise me you'll live, Bridget.
09:58This is really the key to Bridget's story. No matter what life throws at her, no matter how down and out
10:04she might feel, she always finds a way to keep going in the end. One thing that also makes her
10:09so relatable to viewers, too, is that she's allowed to mope and complain a bit in the process,
10:14instead of being expected to just wake up and immediately hop back on the horse. Bridget shows
10:18how life is a continual process. One of the best things about the original movie, and something
10:24that has continued through the sequels, is the willingness to accept that personal growth doesn't
10:28equal perfection, or require you to realize some ideal form of yourself. Just improving and learning
10:35to love yourself more, even if it isn't always 100%, is still a win. Throughout the series,
10:41every ending is felt like relieving her on a happily ever after high note, only to find her back down
10:47in the dumps at the start of the next installment. This makes sense for a film series, as it gives
10:51her character obstacles to overcome. Just having her going up and up and up would come across as
10:57unrealistic and odd. But it's also just how life works. A lot of life is taking two steps forward when
11:03you can, and sometimes just having to deal with the reality of falling one or two or three steps back.
11:10And while Bridget's grief is real and painful, it doesn't drag the story down. Instead, it makes
11:16it feel true to life. Even when it seems like you've finally got things figured out, and your life is
11:22going just the way you want, things can, and often will, go wrong. And Bridget shows us that while the
11:29process of moving through this grief can be long and difficult, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
11:35While Bridget was often wishing for her own movie magic fairy tale, her story in fact shows us the
11:41importance of working to build your own happily ever after. Even through all of the ups and downs,
11:46successes and heartbreaks, Bridget has never lost her own spark. She's grown and changed, but she is
11:52still, at her core, Bridget Jones. The real things she has that feel like lovely movie magic in the end,
11:59aren't the rom-com romance moments, but instead things like close long-time friendships and a
12:05willingness to always keep trying. The most aspirational thing about the Bridget Jones series
12:10in the end isn't her relationship with any one guy, but instead the community of loving people
12:16she has around her. I'll be honest, I don't know what I'd have done the past 20 years without you
12:20lot. 20? No, it's... 30? It's more like 30 years, to be honest. And that isn't something that she had
12:26to change herself to go out to find. It's been there with her all along. To Bridget, who cannot cook,
12:33but who we love. Just as she is. Just as she is. What has changed is that she's come to appreciate them
12:41even more. And to expand that circle to include even more caring people. And this is where we
12:47leave Bridget at the end of this peak into her life. She has entered into a loving relationship
12:52with a very hot guy, but that isn't the sole focus of her life. Together with all of her loved ones,
12:58she's celebrating walking into a new era of her life filled with all kinds of love,
13:03and with hope for the future. Whatever it may bring.
13:05And this doesn't mean Bridget is forgetting Mark and what they had. But instead, she's just
13:10experiencing the truth of living with loss. As you move on, the grief will never leave you 100%,
13:17but you find ways to cope and keep their memory alive by building the happy life that they would
13:22have wanted for you. Earlier in the film, Bridget and her children wrote notes to Mark and released
13:27them attached to balloons, symbolizing beginning to release the pain of losing him. At the very end of
13:32the film, we see another symbol. The owl that has come to function as a metaphor for Mark's memory
13:39returns, symbolizing how the memories of those we've lost are always with us, and will always
13:44keep coming back when we need them. But we can't get lost dwelling on them forever, because we have to
13:51keep living. It's not enough to survive, you've got to live. That's the take. Click here to watch the
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