Dressing Bridget Jones in her 50s: The ‘Frazzled Englishwoman’ grows up
Twenty-four years since actor Renée Zellweger first appeared in the film adaptation of Helen Fielding’s literary bestseller “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” she’s back for her fourth turn as an endearing, klutzy character looking for love. Although this time, in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” she’s no longer a carefree young woman, but a widow in her 50s, with two kids.
Jones’s personal style — a quirky, at times ill-fitting wardrobe of short skirts, cleavage-revealing tops, mumsy cardigans, granny pants and long scarves — helped cement her character into an unforgettable part of noughties pop culture history. Though, this wasn’t the intention of costume designer Rachael Fleming.
When creating the outfits for the first 2001 Bridget Jones cast, Fleming sought to give Jones — whose diary entries detailed her romantic adventures, weight, and alcohol and cigarette consumption — a pragmatic, somewhat disheveled look that would feel relatable to busy women. It’s a perspective that feels even more pertinent now in a glossy world of seemingly perfect and photoshopped images.
The style has since spawned a microtrend coined as the “Frazzled Englishwoman” aesthetic, which encompasses the kind of haphazard layering often seen on British people because of the country’s unpredictable weather. Think of a jilted Kate Winslet in “The Holiday” or a befuddled Keira Knightley in “Love Actually.” Such archetypes have also inadvertently appeared on the runways of luxury brands such as Chanel and Miu Miu.
Maintaining a feeling of “authenticity” and being “rooted in reality” was crucial to Molly Emma Rowe, the costume designer for Bridget Jones’s latest big screen adaptation. “Bridget has some nice clothes, and she tries her best, but she sort-of always gets it a bit wrong. There’s always something a little bit off, whether it’s the fit, or the pattern or color clashing,” she told CNN over a phone call.
In the new film, which releases in UK cinemas and on Peacock in the US on February 13, Rowe said there are fewer “iconic clothing moments” — such as the Playboy bunny outfit that Jones wore to the Tarts and Vicars party where almost nobody else is in costume, or the racy tiger-print underwear styled with nothing but a camisole and cardigan as she chased Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) in the snow. This time round, those kinds of “uncomfortable situations” simply don’t feature, added Rowe.
With Jones now juggling a career with parenting, friendships and dating, “it’s a very emotional film,” Rowe explained. “We’re trying to bring Bridget back to life and help her navigate through her grief. It was important for us that as she was finding her way, her clothes didn’t sort of challenge that.”
Jones’s wardrobe, like the character, is palpably more grown up. Cocktail dresses and cozy twinsets have been swapped out for work-appropriate blazers and cardigans layered over shirts, though Rowe retained some of Jones’s flirty personality by dressing her in pieces such as a mini skirt, made more demure styled with stockings. There are also plenty of subtle, nostalgic references to previous films, such as an emerald green dress, which Jones, in the opening scene of the new movie, struggles to zip up without Darcy — a nod to her look in the third film when she reunites with Darcy.
With only 12 weeks to pull together a wardrobe for the cast, and few of Jones’s old clothing in the archives, Rowe recreated some historical looks— such as the infamous red penguin-print pajama set (a version of the pajama top is worn by Jones on a school run in the new film). “The original ones no longer exist, so we had to recreate them,” explained Rowe. “We color-tested loads of reds on screen to make sure that after filming it would still look like the original red. That required fading out (the fabric), pulling threads and breaking buttons, to make them look like they’d been worn and washed over 20 years.”
RELATED ARTICLE
Renée Zellweger was happy to return as Bridget Jones: ‘Her story is not finished’
That was a key premise of the clothes worn by Jones: “Fashion is cyclical. You might find things that you’ve worn many years ago that you try out again later. We saw Bridget doing that,” noted Rowe. Many of the pieces Zellweger wore in the film were thrifted from charity and consignment stores, such as Mary’s Living and Giving in Hampstead, the north London neighborhood where her character lives. “Mark died four years ago and Bridget’s not out buying clothes. She’s struggling to keep it together, which is one of the reasons why nothing (in her life) looks new,” Rowe said.
Coping with grief and its subsequent impact on how one dresses was another focal point. Rowe drew on her personal experience having lost her father as a teenager, a “confusing time” that changed how her mother dressed. “My mom wore a lot of his clothes during that period. I think it was like reaching for a comfort blanket.” That inspired the oversized bobbly gray cardigan and shirts, monogrammed with Mark Darcy’s initials, which Jones is seen wearing throughout. For Rowe, it also added a nuanced perspective that wasn’t part of the script: “We could create the idea of what Mark Darcy might have been wearing at home with Bridget and the kids, which is not something you ever see on screen.”
“Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” also follows the recent releases of films that center on women in their 50s, such as “The Substance,” the provocative horror-comedy starring Demi Moore as a former A-lister past her prime and drawn to the potential benefits of a mysterious new drug, and “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller featuring Nicole Kidman as a high-flying CEO who begins an illicit affair with a young intern. It’s a welcome development after years of inequality in the representation of middle-aged and older females in film and television (female characters aged 50 and above continue to have a limited presence on screen and are far less likely to have a romantic storyline, according to a 2024 report by the Geena Davis Institute in collaboration with the NextFifty Initiative.)
If Rowe has a message for viewers, it’s that she hopes they’ll be “empowered to feel comfortable in their vulnerabilities,” she said. “To be a woman approaching or in her 50s and having these kinds of films to watch is very inspiring.”
© 2025 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.
CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Where to watch ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,’ plus what you need to know about Renée Zellweger’s final outing as the character
We independently evaluate the products we review. When you buy via links on our site, we may receive compensation. Read more about how we vet products and deals.
Nearly 25 years after saying hello to beloved Brit Bridget Jones onscreen, we’re about to bid farewell to her in the fourth, and reportedly final, chapter of the Bridget Jones saga. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy premieres this Thursday, Feb. 13 (AKA Galentine’s Day) exclusively on Peacock. The final Bridget Jones sequel sees our chaotic protagonist dealing with complicated feelings of grief as a widower who has recently vowed to restart living her life to the fullest. Enter: Leo Woodall as the 29-year-old Roxster, who is ready to rock her world. Chiwetel Ejiofor also joins the new film as potentially a much more sensible option for Bridget. Hugh Grant returns as the saucy Daniel Cleaver, and Emma Thompson returns as Bridget’s trusted doctor.
Are you ready for one last adventure with Bridget Jones? Here’s what to know about the final film, plus where to watch the other Bridget Jones movies.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy premieres exclusively on Peacock on February 13, 2025.
Peacock
A Peacock subscription is a great way to stream shows like The Traitors and The Day of the Jackal, plus events like year’s WWE Royal Rumble, Premier League soccer, and more.
With a Peacock Premium subscription, you’ll get access to thousands of hours of shows and movies, including beloved sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and The Office. For $14 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Right now, grab an annual subscription to Peacock Premium for $30 now using the code WINTERSAVINGS.
After becoming a widow and single mother to two children, Bridget Jones is pushed by her friends and family to get back into the dating scene. It is there that she meets a dreamy, much younger man (played by One Day’s Leo Woodall). But even his youthful enthusiasm can’t save Bridget from the judgment of other parents at her children’s school and the world at large.
The new Bridget Jones film will see Renée Zellweger and Emma Thompson reprise their roles and the return of Hugh Grant from the first two films. Leo Woodall joins as the titular “Boy” in question (Bridget’s apparent new love interest). Chiwetel Ejiofor joins as a teacher at Bridget’s children’s school.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is the fourth Bridget Jones movie in the franchise. Its predecessors (in release order) are: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016).
Looking to rewatch the franchise before the final chapter of Bridget Jones’s story comes to an end? We’ve got you covered. Here’s where you can stream all the Bridget Jones films.
Renée Zellweger stars as Bridget Jones, a 32-year-old single woman who starts a diary in an attempt to regain control of her own life and future — and winds up caught in a peculiar love triangle between two ex-best friends. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth also star in the very first Bridget Jones film, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Helen Fielding. You can stream Bridget Jones’s Diary on Max.
Stream on Max
Despite being totally in love with Mark Darcy, Bridget lets insecurity get the best of her and her relationship in the chaotic second chapter of her story. Colin Firth returns alongside Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. You can stream the Bridget Jones sequel on Max.
Stream on Max
After breaking up with Mark, Bridget meets a dreamy American man (Patrick Dempsey) who sort of sweeps her off her feet. But when she falls pregnant, she’s caught in a love triangle with both potential fathers. You can stream Bridget Jones’s Baby on Max.
Stream on Max
Top Stories
When does the new Bridget Jones movie come out?
How to watch Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy:
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy plot:
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy cast:
How many Bridget Jones movies are there?
Where to watch the Bridget Jones movies:
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)
Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016)
Recommended articles
Stream ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’
Peacock
Why Hollywood Keeps Sending Rom-Coms Like ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ Straight to Streaming
In “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” the neurotic, lovelorn heroine hasn’t just swapped cigarettes for Nicorette. She’s traded the big screen for Peacock, a second-tier streaming service where the franchise’s fourth entry will debut on Feb. 13.
“[People] will watch this one at home,” says Helen Fielding, the author who created Bridget Jones. “If you’re Bridget’s generation, it will be with a bottle of wine and a tub of ice cream. If you’re Gen Z, it will be with lots of minerals, potions and slippers. But it’s a good movie to watch on the sofa.”
Relegating “Mad About the Boy” to streaming signals how far the romantic comedy has fallen in the 24 years since Bridget first captured audiences’ hearts. When “Bridget Jones’s Diary” hit theaters in 2001, the genre was at its zenith, with Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock and of course Bridget herself, Renée Zellweger, regularly populating marquees with their latest meet-cutes. But over the past decade and change, studios have gotten out of the rom-com game, at least theatrically. Now when Zellweger or Witherspoon (whose latest film, “You’re Cordially Invited,” debuted on Prime Video this month) fall in love on-screen, it’s usually a streaming service that’s paying for the affair.
“The bloom is off the rose of rom-coms,” says Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. “There was a period in which they couldn’t miss. But then there were a number that were absolutely awful, and streaming changed things. Now you need spectacle to get audiences into theaters.”
By spectacle, Dergarabedian is referring to Marvel adventures or Christopher Nolan epics, the kind of special effects-heavy adventures that are best enjoyed in Imax or other premium formats. And he’s correct in suggesting the genre became overly formulaic, with the likes of 2017’s “Home Again,” 2018’s “I Feel Pretty” and 2019’s “Isn’t It Romantic” failing to approach the quality of an earlier generation of rom-coms. Even 2016’s “Bridget Jones’s Baby” bombed in the U.S., earning a measly $24.2 million. By comparison, the original earned $71 million domestically and the 2004 sequel generated $40 million.
That chilly reception convinced NBCUniversal to rethink its strategy for Bridget’s fourth cinematic adventure. “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy” isn’t going straight to streaming everywhere. It’ll play in theaters at the international box office, where the series has been a consistent commercial smash. To wit: The third installment grossed nearly $200 million outside the U.S. For all three “Bridget” movies, overseas revenues have accounted for 79% to 89% of overall ticket sales.
“Mad About the Boy” cost $50 million to produce. With that price tag, the studio would need to spend $40 million to $50 million on global theatrical marketing fees, according to rival executives with knowledge of similar productions. That would require “Bridget Jones 4” to collect at least $40 million domestically to justify those expenditures. With that back-of-the-envelope math in mind, NBCUniversal greenlit the film for Peacock in the U.S. and a theatrical release in the rest of the world.
“It’s not one of those stories which you hear of ‘How dare they not release it? I’m so angry!’” says the film’s director, Michael Morris. “I would love it to be released everywhere, but I did know going in that this was going to be a Peacock release in the States.”
The economics of streaming are helping to keep rom-coms alive — and introducing a new generation to these movies. Without needing to spend the tens of millions required to market a big-screen offering, Amazon Prime Video backed Anne Hathaway’s “The Idea of You” and Netflix produced Amy Schumer’s “Kinda Pregnant,” knowing the combination of star power, humor and heart would stand out on the endless scroll of new releases.
“The threshold for what to make streaming-wise is lower than it is theatrically. And they don’t have to be super expensive,” says Alex Saks, a producer on “Kinda Pregnant,” “Book Club” and “It Ends With Us.” “The positive of streamers is the more of these movies we make, the more chances we have to make good ones.”
But fans of rom-coms hold out hope for a big-screen revival. And a few recent examples have bucked the trend and performed well in cinemas, such as 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” which became a cultural touchstone for Asian American moviegoers, and “Anyone but You,” which brought together rising stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, drawing in the TikTok generation in the process. Jennifer Lawrence’s R-rated “No Hard Feelings,” Bullock and Channing Tatum’s “The Lost City” and Roberts and George Clooney’s “Ticket to Paradise” also leveraged the appeal of those A-listers to satisfying box office returns. There were some duds, like Jennifer Lopez’s “Marry Me,” which debuted simultaneously on Peacock, and Billy Eichner’s “Bros.” But that short list nearly encompasses the entire run of theatrical rom-coms over the past half-decade.
“At some point, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” says Scott Meslow, author of “From Hollywood With Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy.” “If you don’t release these movies in theaters and send them to streaming services, how do you know they won’t work?”
Meslow thinks that people could fall back in love with the genre if it’s once again presented as theatrical propositions, instead of disposable streaming movies.
“In five years, will people talk about ‘Hot Frosty’ like they talk about the first ‘Bridget Jones’?” he says. “People are charmed by these stories if they’re unique and well made instead of just something that pops up at the top of the Netflix algorithm.”
Alex Ritman and Ellise Shafer contributed to this report.
3 Comments
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.
Leave a Reply
Name *
Email *
Website
The reason is simply that US audiences aren’t fans of Bridget Jones’s cringing British comedy as international audiences aren’t fans of US comedies from Tyler Perry and films like One of Them Days won’t find an audience internationally.
The first Bridget Jones film in 2001 was likely helped being trailered before several female targeted films What Women Want, Miss Congeniality and The Wedding Planner.
The reviews for Bridget 4 have been quite mixed. The US have been mostly average while British reviews are very polarised, with lots of two and four stars.
The nostalgic elements of Bridget 4 including end credits have likely given the film far more positive response, while its target demographic in 2001 was mums and daughters now it’s the same mums with grandparents as its unlikely to attract anyone under 35.
Because it’s garbage
That’s a rather simple take. I disagree.
A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast
The Business of Entertainment
Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Variety Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC.
