Mad about the Boy Review... Thank you, Bridget Jones. For Normalizing staying friends with an ex

From the start of the franchise, I have absolutely adored Bridget Jones Diary. Bridget the Brit, who longed for love but found herself in crazy foot-in-mouth positions time and time again was and still is a completely relatable character.

Last night, on a whim, while setting up a new streaming box and signing into Peacock, I played the movie. You see, this writing journey has made watching movies or shows difficult—the three-act structure, save the cat, the plot twists, and studying the art can make escaping into the art hard (at least for me).

I turned on the movie and immediately was swept away. My good friend had her husband pass away this year and I couldn’t help the tears falling from my eyes as I saw Bridget’s struggle in losing Mr. Mark Darcy, raising two kids on her own and putting herself back out there on the dating scene. Granted, Bridget was four years after Mr. Darcy’s death, and this is all so fresh for my friend. Grieving sucks, and what Bridget showed me is that the grief will still be around my girlfriend, but she will find her way to honor him, remember him and let the grief just be there. Her kids and she will have their own traditions to remember their dad.

Grief hangs on like static cling and even though Bridget pushed herself back out there, got a nanny, a new producer’s job and a younger man, Mr. Darcy was still in the background.

As she argued with the science teacher about heaven, he was there; as she dealt with twat mothers, he was there; and as she navigated parenting on her own, Mr. Darcy was there in spirit. Because the people you love never really leave you; their bodies might be gone, but their spirit is all around. Like in a Five Guys, when Kung Fu Fighting came on, my grandpa’s favorite song, I got goosebumps and tears in my eyes.

I know Jason is around me too; he visited me the day after he passed. I sat up in bed and told him, I got your girl, and I always will. With his birthday in a few days, I found a turtle sticker his spirit animal and bought Liz a card. I can’t be with her that day but if I could, I would give her the biggest hug ever, which is what I saw happening a lot in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.

Bridget has an amazing support network. And I made you read all the way here to get to the point of how clever and cheeky I am. One of the many people in her support network was Daniel (her ex from the first movie). Daniel came over to watch the kids while she attended a dinner on why she wasn’t dating yet with Mark's friends.

She was Daniel next of kin, and lastly, before I start crying again, thank you, Bridget Jones Diary franchise, for normalizing being friends with an ex. Just because a relationship started out as more than a friendship doesn’t mean later on down the line the relationship is just friendship. I think Americans take the labels too seriously sometimes and should look past the labels and hang out with who they want to hang out with, whether they were an ex or not. Just be honest and open in all relationships about what you want out of them.

So back to my friend, to movie and me: I cried so much during Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy because they managed to keep it relatable, funny, and heartwarming. Every single character had a purpose or was someone you could draw a comparison to in your everyday life.

Movies are supposed to help you escape but also help you feel. I recommend this movie. I’d give the movie a 4.5 glasses of mom wine rating out of 5, especially if you just lost someone special.

Because they are always there like creepers, checking up on you.