The Bridget Jones’s Diary movies were adapted from Helen Fielding’s novels, and they made some significant changes to the source material. The movies follow the title character, Bridget, a woman in her thirties struggling with her love life. So far, only three books have been adapted into films. However, it’s been confirmed Bridget Jones: Mad About That Boy will be released in 2025.
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It’s not uncommon for films to make alterations to their source material to help tell their story. Despite the changes the Bridget Jones movies make to the book, a huge part of Bridget’s story remained unchanged. The Bridget Jones movies managed to capture the essence of the beloved book character despite the changes made to the source material.
10 Some Characters From The Books Weren’t Included In The Films
Gary, Jamie, And Bridget’s Grandma Weren’t In The Movies
A few characters from the Bridget Jones novels were not included in the film adaptation. In the books, Bridget had a brother called Jamie, but he wasn’t a huge part of the narrative and rarely appeared in the novels except for a few times when he and Bridget were talking on the phone. Bridget’s grandma, who also wasn’t featured in the film, was part of Bridget’s story in the novels. Another character missing from the films was Gary, Bridget’s builder, who stole her money and left a huge hole in her apartment.
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Bridget and her grandma barely had a relationship in the novels, so the fact that she was missing from the films made sense.
The writers of the films decided not to include these characters because they didn’t play a significant role in Bridget’s life, except for Gary. Bridget and her grandma barely had a relationship in the novels, so the fact that she was missing from the films made sense. However, Gary and Bridget’s storyline is an important part of the novel because he was an interesting character who made her life even more complicated.
9 Rebecca’s Wasn’t In Love With Bridget In The Books
Rebecca And Bridget Weren’t Really Friends In The Novels
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While Rebecca is an important character in the Bridget Jones books, she plays a much smaller role in films. Rebecca is Bridget, Sharon, and Jude’s friend. The novels see her trying to cause a rift between Mark and Bridget so she can have him all to herself. She was often mean to Bridget and made cruel remarks about her appearance and way of life. In the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Rebecca is in love with Bridget.
The Bridget Jones movies created a new personality for Rebecca. She was sweet and endearing, which made her more relatable compared to how she was portrayed in the novels. However, it would have been better if Rebecca was the same in the movies as she was in the books because her relationship with Bridget was one of the most entertaining parts of Helen Fielding’s novels.
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8 Bridget’s Diary Entries Were Altered In The Film
The Films Cut Out A Huge Part Of Bridget’s Story
Bridget’s diaries were a safe place for her in the novels. She wrote everything in them, including how much she weighed, the number of cigarettes she smoked per day, how much alcohol she had drunk, and the woes of being a single woman in her thirties. The films, however, didn’t delve into Bridget’s diary entries. Of course, the famous rom-com movies had some portion of her diary entries, but a significant part of them were cut out.
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While it’s a shame that some parts of Bridget’s diary entries weren’t included in the films, it does make sense because of how her story unfolds. Bridget was obsessed with her weight in the books, which was why she was constantly updating how much she weighed in her diary entries. The films shifted away from that narrative and instead focused on her love life.
7 Bridget and Daniel’s Relationship Was Portrayed Differently In The Films
Daniel Was A Better Boyfriend In The Movies
Throughout the Bridget Jones novels, Daniel and Bridget had an on-and-off relationship. In the novels, Daniel is emotionally unavailable and Bridget ultimately breaks up with him after she caught him cheating. Their relationship in Helen Fielding’s book was often on the rocks due to Daniel’s inability to fully commit to Bridget. The films instead portrayed Daniel as a sweet and loving boyfriend whose only fault was cheating on Bridget.
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Problematic boyfriends are nothing new in romantic comedies.
But the fact that Daniel was a better partner in the movies than he was in the books contributed to what made him a more lovable character. If he was the same emotionally unavailable Daniel in the films, it would have made it harder to pass him off as one of Bridget’s greatest loves, whose only competition for the top spot was Mark.
6 Bridget And Daniel Didn’t Work Together At Sit Up In The Books
Daniel Worked At A Different TV Station
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Following Bridget and Daniel’s catastrophic breakup, Daniel was fired from his publishing company, single, and living a miserable life. He didn’t get a new job at Bridget’s company. Instead, he was a travel presenter at another TV studio. The movies, however, show Daniel and Bridget working together at Sit Up. The book versions of Daniel and Bridget didn’t have a professional relationship after she left the publishing company. The only times they interacted were when Daniel was begging Bridget to take him back.
The insertion of Daniel into a different part of Bridget’s life was a way to bring them closer together in order to continue their on-and-off relationship. Since Bridget and Mark weren’t together in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason until the end of the film, she had to have another romantic interest because it is, after all, a romantic comedy.
5 Bridget And Daniel Weren’t Together In Thailand
Bridget Went To Thailand With Sharon
Colin Firth has joined the series as Sir Bucephalus Hodge.
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Bridget and Mark broke up several times during their relationship. It was during one of these break-ups that propelled Bridget to go on holiday to Thailand with one of her best friends, Sharon. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason shows Daniel and Bridget together in Thailand. However, that wasn’t the case in the books because the two were barely talking since Bridget had finally decided to let Daniel go.
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While Daniel and Bridget were together in Thailand, the two rekindled their romance. Given that their trip to Thailand added some of the most romantic scenes between Daniel and Bridget in the film, his inclusion in the Thailand trip ended up working out well. Of course, the romance was overshadowed by Daniel once again messing up and leaving Bridget alone while she dealt with being charged with drug trafficking.
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4 Pamela’s Storyline Was Changed
Pamela Was More Lovable In The Films
Bridget’s mother, Pamela, was one of the most interesting characters in Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones books. She was a constant source of unsolicited advice that sometimes caused tension between her and her daughter. In the novel, Pamela is arrested for stealing money from her family and friends. Instead of apologizing, she acted like she did nothing wrong. The movies cut out that part of Pamela’s storyline.
She treated her husband better and achieved her dream of having a career without ruining her family’s life.
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It’s a good thing that Pamela’s storyline and personality were changed in the films because it made her a more lovable character. She treated her husband better and achieved her dream of having a career without ruining her family’s life. The fact that she saw the error of her ways and wanted to work things out with her husband made her more endearing. She even had one of the most romantic scenes in the Bridget Jones movies.
3 The Edge Of Reason’s Ending Was Altered
Bridget And Mark Got Engaged
After spending the better part of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason broken up, Mark and Bridget got back together at the end of the book. Mark asked Bridget to go to Thailand with him after they rekindled their relationship. However, the end of the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason film had the couple getting engaged after Bridget declared her love for Mark. In the books, Bridget and Mark didn’t get engaged so soon after reuniting.
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Endings are usually the things that are changed in film adaptations of novels. So it’s not surprising that this is what happened with the Bridget Jones film adaptation. Mark and Bridget’s engagement at the end of the film was the perfect conclusion to the movie. Their engagement and Bridget’s declaration of love added a much-needed romantic scene to the film, seeing as it didn’t have many of them.
2 Daniel Was Alive In The Books
Hugh Grant Didn’t Want To Reprise His Role As Daniel In Bridget Jones’s Baby
Daniel was alive in Bridget Jones’s Baby novel. He played a major role in Bridget’s pregnancy because she thought that her child might be his. However, the movie killed him off because Hugh Grant didn’t want to reprise his role. The end of Bridget Jones’s Baby movie showed a newspaper article that stated that Daniel was actually alive. The fact that he is alive perfectly sets up Daniel’s role in Bridget Jones 4.
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Although Hugh Grant was asked to return to Bridget Jones’s Baby, he declined the offer. The actor didn’t reprise his role in Bridget Jones’s Baby because he felt like his character didn’t belong in the movie (via Vanity Fair). Daniel was replaced by Patrick Dempsey’s Jack, but his absence was felt because his banter with Bridget contributed to what made the movie funny.
1 Jack Qwant Wasn’t In The Bridget Jones Novels
Jack Replaced Daniel In Bridget Jones’s Baby
Jack Qwant was created for the film and wasn’t part of the Bridget Jones books. In the film, Jack replaced Daniel as the other person who Bridget thought was the father to her child. Jack teased Mark and felt that he was a better partner for Bridget, but she didn’t feel the same way about him. She ended up leaving him and choosing Mark, but she made Jack the godfather to her son.
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Seeing that Daniel wasn’t in Bridget Jones’s Baby, a different character had to replace him because the film and novel were about her pregnancy dilemma. Jack perfectly fit into Bridget’s story because he was different from Daniel. He supported her during her pregnancy and did his best to deal with a complicated situation. He even got along with Mark to some extent. However, Daniel and Bridget had better chemistry in Bridget Jones’s Diary.
Sources: Vanity Fair
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Bridget Jones’s Diary
Based on the novel by Helen Fielding, the rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary revolves around a 32-year-old single woman who keeps a diary of her life and romantic encounters. Starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant, the 2001 movie was a massive commercial and critical success.
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*Availability in US Director Sharon Maguire Release Date April 13, 2001 Writers Helen Fielding , Andrew Davies , Richard Curtis Cast Renée Zellweger , Gemma Jones , Celia Imrie , James Faulkner , Jim Broadbent , Colin Firth