The third installment in the Bridget Jones saga sees her reaching her 43rd birthday, still single but with her new career as a TV producer going well she is a lot more upbeat than usual until a ‘Happy Birthday’ call from her mother reminds her that the opportunity for having a family is running out which gets the cogs in her brain turning towards parenthood even if there is still a glaring gap in the form of a man to fill out the biological requirements. Two chance encounters soon sort that out however as she attends a music festival, gets very drunk and ends up sleeping with an American stranger (Patrick Dempsey) and shortly afterwards she attends a Christening where she is the Godmother and old flame Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) is Godfather which throws them back together and when she finds out that the now married Mark is soon to be divorced they too end up sleeping together. Inevitably she soon finds out she is pregnant but is unsure which of the two men is the father and when the American stranger turns out to be Jack Qwant, a self made millionaire through his successful invention of a popular dating site who ends up on the TV programme she produces her quandary is complete.

I wasn’t a massive fan of either if the first two although, if the box office figures are any indication, they seem to be very popular and I’m sure this one will be no different even if it is a similar plot. Bridget ends up in varying hilarious situations while she needs to choose between one of two men both of whom fall for her quirky character and vie for her attention. Forgetting the ironic twist of him appearing in the first two movies, I always found that this character was the female equivalent of the characters Hugh Grant made his fame playing. Socially awkward, fopping around saying ‘Bugger’ a lot.

This time Bridget needs to pick between the dynamic handsome American millionaire Jack and the ever so British, handsome gentleman lawyer in Mark. Both of whom are eager to play the parent role and are unaware of the potential fact that they may not even be the father or the child as Bridget tries to keep her situation a secret. Zellweger has done a great job in making this character her own over the years and does not disappoint in her third outing and despite the fact that she has shied away from taking new roles over the last five years or so there is no obvious loss to her talents. She also has able assistance this time from her friend and news anchor Miranda (Sarah Solemani) who is a very bad influence, but in a good way and gives some very funny comic relief moments.

There is also a small but memorable performance by Emma Thompson as Dr.Rawlings who shows she has lost none of her comic talent or timing through the years and both Gemma Jones and Jim Broadbent are back as Bridget mother and father to add some more comedy especially as her mother is running in a local election with her main ethos being on family values all of which add to the comedic tone of the tale.

Unfortunately the movie runs out of steam a bit towards the final third with the predictably farcical, water breaking, dash for the hospital, epidural and labor pain jokes we have seen before. But in that lies the key, there is nothing new within the film but it feels like wearing comfortable clothes, there may be nothing fancy going on but there’s no call for it either so it’s like two hours spent in a happy zone where you know what is happening, what is likely to happen but you are more than happy to be there and tag along for the ride. So despite the slushy ending and formulaic plot you still find yourself entertained.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5.5 Out Of 10