I heard good things about Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and I liked Bridget Jones’s Diary, so I expected to like the second one, as well. I haven’t read the book, so I went in with no preconceived notions. It’s not that I hated the movie, but I found myself rewriting the story as I watched it.
(Warning, spoilers ahead)
First of all, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy is about as exciting a character as Dustin Hoffman as Rainman. I kept waiting for the smug Mark Darcy to pat Bridget on the head and give her a Milkbone. He is just so… bland. Boring. A good guy, sure. Prominent career, excellent manners, impressive pedigree. He is the perfect man-- which is probably why I wanted Bridget to tell him to bugger off.
On the other hand, I found myself very disappointed that Bridget didn’t sleep with Daniel Cleaver. Sure, he’s a cad (and so is Hugh Grant), but he’s interesting. Life is never dull with Daniel. He has charisma the wooden Mark Darcy could never hope to have. Plus, he looks like a better kisser.
I really couldn’t understand why Bridget was supposed to end up with Mark Darcy. She already has a full life with a good, if somewhat embarrassing, job; loyal friends and a slightly nutty family; and she lives in London-- what more could a single girl need? Oh right, a boring husband in a three piece suit and babies. Yawn. She never really fit into Mark Darcy’s world, and why would she want to? Bridget sells herself short by settling for Mark Darcy.
The scene in the Thai prison where the other women are telling tales about their awful boyfriends who beat them, make them work the streets and do drugs is supposed to be an epiphany for Bridget. Ah-ha! Mark Darcy doesn’t make her do these things. Sure, he’s a little dull and he’s as snobbish as his pompous friends and he treats her more like a father than a boyfriend, but he doesn’t beat her! Therefore, he must be the best boyfriend ever.
Gag me.
Frankly, if I’d written the script, I would have had Bridget renouncing men and running off with the very charming and sexy Jacinda Barrett’s Rebecca. One of the most touching scenes of the movie was when Rebecca professed her unrequited love for Bridget. Nothing Mark Darcy said ever came close. (Though I did enjoy watching Colin Firth and Hugh Grant chase each other around and fight in the fountain.)
So, there is my ending for Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason: Bridget and Rebecca live happily ever after, with the occasional kinky holiday threesome with Daniel Cleaver. It might not be the traditional happily-ever-after, but it would never be boring. Oh, and there’s still room for Mark Darcy-- everyone needs a good attorney.
As you can see, there is a reason I was pushing myself so hard to get my word count done for NaNoWriMo. Sheri isn’t even here yet, but my writing is already slowing down. Busy days ahead… but I’ll still be writing a little, with much writing to come in December.
Sheri, for those of you who don’t know (and I honestly can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned it here) is my dearest, oldest, bestest friend. She is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister. She is family (and I use that word in the you-hurt-her-and-I’ll-kill-you way). We met over sixteen years ago in Florida when I hired her to work in the photo lab I managed. She was seventeen, I was twenty-one. Somehow, despite many differences, we became friends.
Since 1988, Sheri and I have only lived in the same state for a year and a half. First, she was off to college, then I was married and off to follow my Navy husband. Over a span of sixteen years and several relocations for both of us (just for fun: Florida (mulitple times), New Jersey, Virginia (twice), New York (three times?), South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Mexico and Illinois), we have managed to maintain our friendship. We’ve done that with many, many long distance phone calls, letters (including pre-email “real” letters), our yearly Thanksgiving get-together and the occasional bonus trip (London, last year!).
By the time Sheri leaves in a little over a week, it will feel as if she’s been here all along. Sometimes it surprises me that we don’t live closer, it seems as if we should. Hopefully, one day we will. We’re going to be very cool little old ladies together.
I am a bundle of mixed emotions these days, with my scattered thoughts making my insomnia worse than ever and giving me horrible dreams of being trapped and not being able to trust anyone. I’m not a big believer in horoscopes, but I’ve had several in the past couple of weeks that have said I’m over-emotional and pushing people away right now. They didn’t say anything about wanting to hit people, which seemed to be my mood today. I didn’t, but I wanted to.
It’s Thanksgiving week, and while I’m not quite ready to list all that I’m thankful for, I intend to have a peaceful, relaxing week away from work while Sheri is here. This is, quite possibly, my favorite week of the year and I plan to enjoy it. For someone who doesn’t have a family to speak of, I am rabid about protecting my traditions-- and my friendships.
I hope to keep working on my NaNoWriMo book in the coming week, but I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Today’s word count is the lowest it’s been all month, but I had a busy day and a very early morning tomorrow. I’m far enough along in this book that I know I’ll finish it, so I’m not going to be too upset if I don’t have a complete draft by the end of the month. Having said that, it’s still my goal.
There are good days ahead, I know that. I just have to get there. Until then, I’ll try not to hit anyone.
Sorry for the silence. After I hit my goal for NaNoWriMo, I took a much needed day off from writing. I still have my personal goal to finish the rough draft of my book by the end of November, but the real pressure is off. It still amazes me that I wrote so much, so quickly.
Of course, every silver lining has a cloud and the cloud in this case is that I’m fairly certain my book doesn’t really start until about half-way into what I’ve already written. Which means, I’ve written an awful lot of stuff that will ultimately get deleted. A little distressing, but given how quickly I’ve written this draft, not too painful. I still think the story works, I just have to rework the time frame. Ahh, enough. I’ll fix it.
I took a longer than intended break from blogging because my hosting service changed my DNS on me and I was down for a day. Here is a brief list of what’s been going on in my life this week:
--I received my author copies of Ultimate Lesbian Erotica from my favorite editorial assisant Whitney at Alyson Publications. I have two stories in this anthology, one under my real name and one under the rather dull, but still real, Lynn Cole (my middle and maiden names).
--I met with my academic advisor (who is head of the Humanities department) earlier this week to talk about my program of study. While we both agree my interests are rather broad, I’m looking forward to taking classes for fun. I have six years to complete my Masters degree and I intend to enjoy the experience.
--I negotiated with my boss to work fewer hours at the library. So, despite much internal conflict, I’m not quitting any time soon. I’m sure Jae had something to do with this, but I’m also not ready to make so many changes at once. After I’ve eased back into academia, I may decide to quit. But as of January, I’ll be working and going to school and writing. Should be… interesting.
I’d love to write a witty post filled with big, intellectual words. However, I’m tired, my brain is mush and my vocabulary is extremely limited. So, I’ll just say…
Woo hoo. I wrote 50,000 words in 18 days.
Somebody give me a cookie.
What’s it all about?
Life. Love. Writing. Editing. Sex. Books. Romance. Movies. Friendship. Photography. Teaching. Coffee. (Lots of coffee.) Travel. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Memories. Experiences. Rants. Raves. Reviews. Babies. Pregnancy. Motherhood. Insanity. Musings of an insomniac writer. Want to know more?
