Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Renée Zellweger as Bridget, and Colin Firth, six years after the BBC series, as Mark Darcy.
Cast the 1995 Darcy as the modern one and the joke does half the work.
You want a romantic comedy tonight and you will enjoy spotting the Austen.
What it keeps and what it changes
Keeps: the novel’s romantic shape, by way of Helen Fielding’s book.
Changes: the time and place to London around 2000, and the heroine to a woman keeping a diary of her failures.
Colin Firth, Darcy in the 1995 series, plays Mark Darcy; Andrew Davies, who wrote that series, worked on this film too.
Whose story is it?
Bridget’s, played by Renée Zellweger; Hugh Grant is the charming one.
How much time does it ask?
A feature film. Directed by Sharon Maguire; Andrew Davies, who wrote the 1995 series, worked on the screenplay.
Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant; directed by Sharon Maguire.
Where to find it
Other ways to get it: Blu-ray — Amazon · Find where it’s streaming — JustWatch
More ways into Longbourn: Pride and Prejudice (1940) · Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1980) · Pride and Prejudice (BBC, 1995)