As far as romantic comedies go, Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) is one of my very favorites of the genre. However, I’m one of those movie fans who also like to pretend that Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) never happened at all. In comparison to the exhilaration of the lovable heroine (perfectly embodied by Renee Zellweger) from the first movie, the sequel was a complete letdown to watch her transformed into a buffoon pursuing the ever-conditional marriage proposal from Mark Darcy. Quite simply, the second movie sought to replicate several key scenes from the first one (including that glorious street fight between Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth’s Darcy) but merely turned into a parody of the first movie. Honestly, I could go on for days about that injustice; but instead, I’ll just complain about an even worse and very likely prospect.

For the past few years, we’ve heard lots of buzzing about a potential third installment to the Bridget Jones franchise. At first, these rumors were easily dismissed, since the second movie disappointed so many Bridget fans; but now, this nightmare could indeed come to fruition, for there’s a script and a director with cred who is “beyond keen” to work on the project:

The film-maker behind the summer’s surprise success, Bridesmaids, is in the early stages of discussions about getting Bridget Jones back into her outsized pants for a third instalment of the film comedy starring Renee Zellweger.

Paul Feig, who told me he’s “beyond keen” to make a movie in London, is in the middle of very complex negotiations about making Bridget 3.

The status of the film at the moment is purely rumour because no deals involving Feig — or the film’s stars Renee, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant — have been sorted out.

An executive in Los Angeles, who is close to one of the film’s participants, told me that negotiations have been fragile because Feig and the cast have other projects; and then there are the usual problems of schedules and money.

I was told that the film-maker, the actors and the studios (Working Title and Focus) are close to agreement on important matters relating to the film, but not close enough for anyone to sign on a dotted line.

Helen Fielding, who created the Bridget Jones’s Diary column in a national newspaper, has written a script for Bridget Jones 3 that features her heroine hoping to become pregnant. But which bloke will be the daddy? Love-rat Daniel Cleaver, played by Grant, or Mark Darcy, the man who loves her just the way she is, played by Firth.

Oscar-winner Firth has indicated that if the script makes sense he’d been interested in reprising his role. Feig is just the man to bring them all together. He knows how to direct comedy and he knows how to be funny.

[From Daily Mail]

Why? Nobody (except perhaps the film studio) wants this third movie to happen at all. Wait, I take that back, for Renee Zellweger may be interested in reprising her role because she doesn’t have much going on professionally at the moment. Yet I honestly can’t see her wanting to gain weight (she’s so fit these days) to play Bridget once again. While they might be able to talk Hugh into coming back as well, Colin Firth is another story altogether. With his newly minted Oscar, Colin’s being pursued by any number of studios for other movies; so if anyone he can put the brakes on this impending disaster, it would be him. Colin Firth, you’re our only hope.

Photos courtesy of Fame and AllMoviePhoto