Now that it has been a few months since the release of the fourth Bridget Jones movie, I feel like I can address the elephant in the room. So, watch out for spoilers. Just a few days ago I started publishing a list of how my year in film has been going so far, and my current slotted Best Actress was Renee Zellweger for this film. That should answer any lingering questions you have ahead of spoilers as to whether or not I would recommend this.

truth be told, I didn’t think the previous sequels offered much to the continued expansion of the Bridget Jones life. It is kind of crazy to think about just how long Renee has been playing this character, and that in the first film she was already starting to feel her age. But, as if very little time has passed, she’s now a mother of adorable children. But, this movie decided to kill off Mark (Colin Firth) before we even get going. We open the film not really aware she’s a widow, but it sets into that obvious rhythm pretty soon. Then, the film becomes about everything from managing motherhood and work, with the possibility of romance in her future.

Hugh Grant does reappear, and he’s tame compared to the previous films. there’s a little bit of flirtation still, but Daniel is starting to wonder what life is like in his golden years. It is revealed that he has a very estranged son he’s spent virtually no time with, and even though he makes for an odd babysitter when Bridget calls, it speaks to that maturing voice within him that drives him to decide to actually be a father.

And speaking of fathers, what this film does right, and quite beautifully, is the use of Colin Firth. he’s used sparingly, but to great effect, in that manifestation of how we always tell those we love we’ll be watching, or with them, and we don’t actually know. But through what could be interpreted as either a ghostly presence, or simply flashbacks, mark appears a few times almost exclusively for his children. These scenes are designed to rip your heart out. They are also what helps make the film better.

My only qualm, is that while Bridget spends about 95% of her time dating a younger man (Nicholas Galaxin), the presence of a more age appropriate, and supposedly less obvious choice always feels like it will be what she lands on in the end. So, when that character is played by Academy Award Nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor,who is a big enough name to not be buried in the role of “the guy who works at my kids school”, this set of choices really mirrors the other choices she’s made in literally every other film. the younger man is the wild choice, much like Daniel was. Mark is the safe choice. Even in the third film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, it would be more dangerous for her to end up with the new boyfriend she just met, but she ends up with Mark. So, the fact that she turns away the young lover at the last minute, and is basically making it clear where her future lies in the end, it just isn’t surprising.

in all, I love how the fourth film really has let these characters grow into their own mature selves. Zellweger is allowed to finally not be consumed by frivolity, and instead allow the weight of the loss of Mark drive a lot of her choices, as well as being a mother. Even allowing Grant’s Daniel to mature is a perfect choice, so he doesn’t tread too far into that territory of the older guy who doesn’t get that he’s not the playboy he thinks he is anymore. it is a grown up Bridget Jones, and while I thought a straight-to-streaming sequel would be an odd abomination, it actually won me over, and is the best sequel in the franchise.

Fresh: Final grade: A-, Audio Description: B+