Why Bridget Jones Will Look Different In Her New Movie

Next month, Renee Zellweger is bringing Bridget Jones back for the new movie Bridget Jones's Baby. But unlike past outings, she won't be gaining weight for the role. Zellweger told The Daily Telegraph that she initially expected to put on a few pounds, but director Sharon Maguire decided against it. The reason behind her decision makes a lot of sense: “Sharon was hoping we could show that Bridget had achieved her ideal weight, but at the same time, it didn’t mean her life was perfect,” the actress explained. "We all have something we think is wrong, that needs fixing, that in our own minds represents the ideal that we are meant to obtain. And I like the idea that that stays with us throughout our lives.” Too often, weight loss is viewed as a panacea. Diet commercials present before and afters that imply weight loss coincides with happiness. To see Bridget Jones attain her weight loss goals, but still struggle with the same issues, would provide a more realistic portrayal of women's relationships to dieting. That's not to say the Bridget Jones movies are entirely unproblematic when it comes to body image. The character is famously insecure about her weight, speaking of herself as if she's above average-sized, when she's not. Plus, there's a joke in the trailer for the new movie about how pregnant Bridget Jones is too unwieldy to carry. Still, Zellweger's recent comments give us hope that maybe Bridget Jones's Baby will address the issue of body image in a more nuanced way than the movies have in the past.