Why, exactly, do so many of us love, love, love the character of Bridget Jones so much? We’d argue that it’s because her character is so authentic that she makes even Carrie Bradshaw look a little too polished and perfect in comparison. In a world in which the bulk of Instagram feeds belonging to “real” people look like the editorial spreads you’d find in high-fashion magazines, Bridget’s realness remains a breath of fresh air, For this reason, we can’t wait to see the latest installment in the franchise, Bridget Jones’s Baby, which releases in the U.S. on Friday, September 16—we’re counting on her to make new parenthood look as daunting and imperfect on screen as it is in real life. Here, 11 times that Bridget Jones, in all of her lovable, Spanx-wearing glory, was all of us, always.
When She Made Resolutions Constantly
... and kept basically none of them. "Will find nice boyfriend to go out with and not continue to form romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment-phobes, peeping toms, meglomaniacs, emotional f*ckwits or perverts." Same.
When She Fell For The Wrong Guy
Speaking of "emotional f*ckwits," Bridget, like us, can't help but go for the wrong guy. As a single thirty-something whose own mother has given up hope that she'll wed, she knows he's going to shred what's left of her dignity, but she can't help but go for it anyway. The good news here is that dealing with these men, as was the eventual case in Bridget Jones's Diary, eventually force us to reclaim our sense of self in a way that's stronger than it was when we started. Also, they make for juicy journal entries.
When She Got Caught Wearing Granny Panties
It always happens on laundry day, doesn't it? That's our excuse, anyway.
When She Got Busted Slacking Off At Work
That moment when your boss catches you blatantly doing something you probably shouldn't be doing at work, like gossiping with your best friend via text, for hours... so Bridget. Especially when you then try to cover it up in a way that makes it a thousand times worse, as afterward your boss thinks you're a slacker and an idiot.
When She Thought About Her "Wobbly Bits" Constantly
We're working on this one, but it sure would help if some dashing man were to tell us he loves us, just the way we are. He doesn't even have to be dashing, to be honest. (Oh okay, fine, this should come from within. But still, a little outside encouragement wouldn't hurt.)
When She Had To Hang Out With Smug Marrieds
Actually, our married friends basically ceased inviting us places once they coupled up, since, we suppose, inviting a single person to a couples' dinner party is sort of like inviting a mosquito with Zika virus to a lamaze class. Still, we've all had to tap dance for married people at one point or another in our single lives, and it's tough to weather those occasions projecting as much "Samantha Jones" or "Oprah" about your single status as you might have intended. This scene nails the whole phenomenon perfectly.
When She Showed Up To A Party Feeling Her Sexiest
...only to realize she had missed the dress code by a mile. Extra points if this happens to you as a single person in your thirties. See also: the time she inadvertently showed up to a date looking like a Ringling Brothers reject. We've all over-rouged and under-skirted at some point.
When She Tried To Be "A Domestic Goddess"
Some person who is actually a domestic goddess went to the trouble of putting together a beautiful recipe for blue soup that is actually edible, in honor of Bridget's infamous culinary snafu. We relate not at all to said person, as the closest we could ever come to executing this dish is by dropping a plastic Smurf into a bowl of ramen.
When She Sang "All By Myself" Alone In Her Apartment
If this hasn't happened to you at some point between the ages of 14 and infinity, you haven't lived. See also: eating cereal out of the box with a spoon.
When She Said This (In The Original Novel)
“Being a woman is worse than being a farmer — there is so much harvesting and crop spraying to be done: legs to be waxed, underarms shaved, eyebrows plucked, feet pumiced, skin exfoliated and moisturized, spots cleansed, roots dyed, eyelashes tinted, nails filed, cellulite massaged, stomach muscles exercised. The whole performance is so highly tuned you only need to neglect it for a few days for the whole things to go to seed.” Yep. This is why we don't feel bad when men pay for dinner.
When Two Unbelievably Attractive Men Got Into A Fistfight Over Her
Are we still allowed to call this "fisticuffs"? Also, this has never happened to any of us and never will. Sorry.
