It's been quite a long road for this comedy based on Helen Fielding's book of the same name. When it was learned that Renee Zellweger would play the lead, many Brits cried foul. After watching her performance, I'm sure their singing a different tune.

Zellweger is Bridget, a thirty something gal who, despite undeniable charm and charisma, has a hard time finding the right guy. It doesn't help that Bridget is a bit flawed, but before long she earns the affection of her boss (played with smarmy glee by Hugh Grant), and a barrister (played by a wonderfully understated Colin Firth).

Bridget Jones's Diary is quite reminiscent of Shirley Valentine and Muriel's Wedding. In fact, many believe that Muriel's Wedding's Toni Collette would have been ideal for this role. As it stands, Zellweger is fantastic and this is the perfect follow up to her underappreciated work in Nurse Betty. She oozes likability here, and her physical comedy is perfectly timed. She also deserves kudos for a realistic accent, and for putting on weight to get the role. In fact, what's most effective about this picture is Zellweger's willingness to let herself go. After all, this is essentially a movie about liking people for who they are, and Zellweger perfectly illustrates that with her warm presence.

Truth be told, there was some dialogue and situations that seemed stilted to me. Particularly the romance aspect of the picture. I knew exactly where it was headed. I've always admired the unpredictability of British comedies, but the love story here was pretty obvious. Still, these are such colorful and well drawn characters, that I pretty much bought into the whole story. Firth plays his role with an understated charm, and Hugh Grant was born to play this part.

Bridget Jones's Diary has that biting flavor you come to expect out of a British comedy, but at it's heart, it's quite old fashioned. With Zellweger leading the way, this movie was a lot of fun and I hope she gets some recognition because this really is her picture.