Renée Zellweger's loveable Bridget Jones is older and a tad wiser in the upcoming Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. The fourth movie in the hit Bridget Jones series is this year's big Valentine's Day release, so you can curl up at Cineworld in the company of the lovelorn Bridget who now finds herself widowed with two kids, and ready to face the dating minefield all over again.
In addition to Zellweger's superb comic timing, a lot of the humour and pathos of the Bridget Jones films come from the curated soundtrack of pop hits. In anticipation of the new movie, we've selected several of our favourites. Did yours make the grade? Scroll down to find out.
1. 'All By Myself'
Celine Dion's emphatic hit was never the same after the opening sequence to Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). It became compulsory to belt it out all alone, wearing some bright jim-jams and with a bottle of vodka – or is that just us?
Either way, it's a superb choice of song to lock us into Bridget's single mindset: slightly forlorn yet utterly loveable and ready to change her life around at the start of a new year.
2. 'Respect'
The moment when Bridget stands up to her love-rat boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is tremendously satisfying, largely due to the typically astute soundtrack choice.
Her NSFW response on leaving Cleaver's publishing house involves Saddam Hussein's bottom, punctuated by the exhilarating punch of Aretha Franklin's vocals. Let's face it, we've all imagined ourselves quitting a job this way.
3. 'I'm Every Woman'
Here's the anthem of empowerment for everyone who's suffered at the hands of "a bad man and an American stick insect". Be like Bridget: choose Chaka Khan (before or after the vodka shot that sends you to the floor).
4. 'It's Raining Men'
The best needle drop from Bridget Jones's Diary accompanies possibly the most realistic fight scene in movie history and makes the scene even funnier. As Daniel Cleaver and Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) square off and fight each other, each perfectly unsuited for the job, Geri Halliwell's cover of 'It's Raining Man' perfectly amps up the pomposity of Bridget's love rivals.
That it suddenly cuts out on their plunge through a restaurant window is a testament to the perfect sound editing.
5. 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'
Come to think of it, the soundtrack for the first Bridget Jones movie is seriously underrated. Another soul classic, this time from Diana Ross, caps off the movie when Bridget, wearing little more than a t-shirt and pants, takes off after Mark Darcy into snowy London.
She wants to intercept him after he's read her tell-all diary – but really he's just set out to buy her a new one. It's the perfect, uplifting climax to a classic rom-com and the start of the Bridget/Mark relationship.
6. 'I Believe In a Thing Called Love'
Sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) had to escalate the Cleaver/Darcy rivalry. What better way to do so than with an even bigger fight? In a cheeky moment of self-awareness, the cocksure Cleaver acknowledges what will happen if the two men step outside again.
Cue the energetic tones of Justin Hawkins and The Darkness as the absurd scrap spills over from a museum into an outdoor fountain, at which point Daniel seemingly gives up on Bridget forever. As with the first fight, the lack of pre-planned choreography makes everything feel more spontaneous, realistic and hilarious.
7. 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now'
Threequel Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) keeps us guessing as to the identity of Bridget's sugar daddy. Is it her beau Mark Darcy or the hunky new American on the scene, Jack (Patrick Dempsey)?
The movie does a good job keeping us off-guard until the inevitable climactic rush to the hospital set-piece, which is set to the McFadden and Whitehead classic 'Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now', after which Mark is revealed to be the father.
Discover the musical highlights of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy when it's released on February 13th. Book your Cineworld tickets below, and don't forget to enter our Bridget Jones Galentine's Day competition.
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