Why Bridget Jones Was Kind Of The Worst

It's hard to believe that Bridget Jones's Diary came out in April 2001. It doesn't seem possible that it was 15 years ago that the world was first introduced to Renée Zellweger's eternal singleton. With Bridget Jones's Baby due for release on September 16, 2016, almost 12 years after the last Bridget Jones movie came out, some major changes are sure to have taken place in Bridget's life. But there's one thing that has probably stayed the same — Bridget Jones is kind of the worst for a zillion different reasons.

There's definitely a soft spot in my heart for the first Bridget Jones film, and I even read the first two books, devouring Bridget's antics, desperate to find out which of the men in her life she ended up with. The third movie is going to throw a lot of surprises at us, especially with the introduction of brand new love interest Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy forever), but it's likely that Bridget will have remained the same — drinking a lot, over-complicating romance, and worrying too much about her weight. While I'm sure there are many reasons to love the hapless heroine, in real life, Bridget Jones would be a nightmare friend, and, if we're all really honest with ourselves, she really wasn't the best.

Bridget's inability to make her mind up, or focus or one thing at a time, is never more evident than when she's in love. The only problem is, she never seems to be able to figure out who she's in love with. Bridget Jones's Baby looks like it'll replicate the dynamic of the first two movies, by having two men vying for Bridget's affections throughout. We've all developed feelings for people we know we shouldn't want, that could be bad for us, but Bridget throws herself into this scenario again and again.

Despite knowing that Hugh Grant's character Daniel Cleaver is a ladies' man who will likely never settle down, Bridget is sucked in by his sweet talking time and again. Not every relationship has to be serious, obviously, but Bridget Jones is a grown-ass woman. Shouldn't she have gotten sick of Daniel's schtick way sooner than she did? In a way, I'm thankful that Hugh Grant passed on the third movie, because seeing Bridget Jones go back to Daniel Cleaver one more time would make me seriously miserable.

It was these kinds of flaws that made Bridget the most relatable heroine, but she was a deeply flawed character regardless. As so much time has passed since we last saw Bridget Jones, and it's possible that she's changed, and grown, with time. But, at least from the first two movies, she was kind of the worst.

Image: Universal Pictures; Giphy