Hugh Grant dissects the classic fight scene in ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’
In 1996, Helen Fielding released the book Bridget Jones’s Diary following her successful column of the same name that was published in several newspapers, including The Independent. Bringing to life a 30-something-year-old woman with a messy love life, crazy parents, a slight drinking problem, an obsession with her weight, and a group of reliable friends, people loved reading about the protagonist’s exploits in all of their cringe-inducing glory.
Bridget might have a tendency to overanalyse, embarrass herself, and obsess, but at its core, the novel is a love letter to all women who relate to the loveable and chaotic character attempting to navigate a world where society still raises an eyebrow at unmarried women over the age of 30, and how much you weigh directly correlates to your worth. While the novel isn’t without its own questionable moments – like Bridget routinely declaring that any weight over nine stone is basically obese – it has remained one of the most popular British books of the past 30 years.
A few years after it was released, Sharon Maguire directed a film adaptation of the book (herself the inspiration for the character Shazza), which soon became a hit. With Renee Zellweger playing Bridget, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy (a meta nod to the fact that Bridget is obsessed with his role as Mr Darcy in the BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice), and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver, the movie attracted a large audience, and it remains a foundational 2000s rom-com.
The love triangle between Bridget, Mark, and Daniel takes inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, with Mark, of course, reflecting Mr Darcy while Daniel, his former friend, is inspired by George Wickham, who similarly betrays Darcy in Jane Austen’s novel. While Mark is a reserved and rather serious character, Daniel is the sleazy type. They might seem wildly different, but they both want Bridget and in one iconic sequence, the pair end up engaging in a highly comical fight as ‘It’s Raining Men’ plays in the background.
Speaking to E! News, Grant dissected the scene, explaining how he and Firth tried to make the fight as realistic yet pathetic as possible. “We were very keen to do a fight how two middle-class, educated Englishmen would fight,” he revealed. The actor discussed how, usually, a stunt guy will direct a fight sequence, but in this case, they “locked him out of the room.”
Instead, the actors vowed to direct it themselves, saying, “No, we’re going to do it as though Col and me were having a fight, and that’s why it’s so pathetic and sort of girly – just sort of tragic attempts to kick each other, wrestling, and hair pulling.”
Meanwhile, Firth backed up this notion by stating that they both tried to fight like “a couple of imbeciles.” The result is great, with the pair trading punches with typically English responses (“Fuck me, that hurt!”) before cranking things up to the next level, even breaking a restaurant window as people eagerly watch them fight. It truly conveys the fragility at the heart of both of these characters, whose wounded egos spur them to act like children, although it’s Mark who delivers the final blow.
