The A-Z of Bridget Jones: part two

10 April 2012
M is for Magic Mushrooms

N is for Naughtiness - you just can't trust that Daniel Cleaver. Bridget is about to succumb to his charms in Bangkok when a transsexual Thai prostitute he has hired turns up.

O is for Olivia Joules - the heroine of Helen Fielding's latest novel, a spoof spy story, for which the film rights have not yet been sold. Plans for a third Bridget Jones film, however, are already underway, despite the absence of a third Bridget Jones book.

P is for Paxman - echoing the cameos by Salman Rushdie and Jeffrey Archer in the original film, Newsnight's arch-inquisitor Jeremy Paxman gets a taste of his own medicine from Daniel Cleaver in the sequel. P is also for Primrose Hill, where Bridget and Darcy frolic at the beginning of the film, in a pastiche of The Sound of Music. Finally, P is for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, to which Helen Fielding acknowledges her debt for the plot (and certain character names) of Bridget's adventures.

Q is for Question - "The question is," says Bridget, "once you've found true love, how do you make it last forever?"

R is for Richard Curtis - the screenwriter who not only matches his script for the original BJ movie, but also atones here for the schmaltz of Love, Actually.R is also for Restaurant - Bridget's favourite, 192 in Notting Hill, closed before the second film started shooting.

S is for the Serpentine Gallery - Mark Darcy and Daniel Cleaver come to blows at the Kensington art emporium, in an inept, girly fight that tops their tussle in the first film. S is also for Bridget's friend Shazza (Sally Phillips) and for Shags - Bridget estimates that she and Mark have had 71 between the first movie and the second.

T is for Turkey Curry Buffet - as in the first film, the Edge of Reason opens at Bridget's mother's annual, inedible, post-Christmas feast. T is is also for Tower Bridge, where Bridget and Mark have a massive argument after their lawyers' dinner, and for Tory - liberal Bridget is shocked to find that Mark votes Conservative.

U is for Underpants - not just Bridget's infamous big knickers (which get another airing in the sequel) but also Darcy's. The fact that he folds his pants is one of the reasons Bridget goes off him.

V is for Vows - after their marital problems in the first film, Bridget's parents renew their marital oaths in the second (and force Bridget to wear a hideous lavender frock). V is also for V. V. Good is undoubtedly Bridget's opinion of the second film bearing her name.

W is for Wet - Mark and Daniel end up in a fountain after their Serpentine Gallery spat. Similarly, Bridget enjoys a brief moment of cheerfulness on the streets of London .... until a van drives by and drenches her.

X is for Ex-boyfriend - Daniel Cleaver, but the movie is far from X-rated - there is much less sex than in the first film, let alone the act - "illegal in several countries" - that Bridget and Daniel performed in the first film.

Y is for Yellow - specifically, the hideous yellow (and orange, and purple) jumpsuit that Bridget is compelled to wear when parachuting onto her posterior for Sit Up Britain.

Z is for Renée Zellweger - of course. The Texan Ms Z proves herself once again adept at emulating a British accent (and shape) in her second foray as the devilishly amusing Miss Jones.

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