BY ABGRABER

In print | Published November 18, 2004

“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” answers an interesting question best ignored by romantic comedies: What happens after Hollywood abandons the story and the relationship is left to survive in a universe without the legal requirement of a happy ending?

In other words, following a series of gross misjudgments, ineffective diets, drunken self-pity sessions, declarations of feminine independence, humiliation in front of snooty academics, inappropriate fashion choices, exposure on national television, and creative undergarments, what happens after Bridget and her beau end up kissing the snow? Apparently, a series of gross misjudgments, ineffective diets, drunken self-pity sessions, declarations of feminine independence, humiliation in front of snooty academics, inappropriate fashion choices, exposure on national television, and creative undergarments, culminating with Bridget and her beau kissing the snow. There’s a pattern here, I just know it.

After 10 minutes of “The Edge of Reason,” the sequel to “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” you will begin to entertain the possibility that the producers weren’t interested in making a fresh new movie, but rather, they were concerned with making you pay theater prices for the first film all over again. “The Edge of Reason” follows unabashedly (although it should be very abashed) in the footsteps of the “Austin Powers” franchise, re-releasing the same script, characters and jokes under a different title and having the audacity to call it a new film. Shame.

When we last left Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) — aged 33, spinster — she was happily shacked up with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), the “surprise” love interest of the last film who differs noticeably from the standard by not being Hugh Grant. Never fear, romance-devotees, Grant is back in “The Edge of Reason,” reprising his role as Daniel Cleaver, Bridget’s womanizing ex-boyfriend and ex-boss who is now paying the rent by making inappropriate broadcasts as the anchor for a televised travel program (“New York: the city that never sleeps with the same person twice”).

“The Edge of Reason” takes a small eternity to develop any kind of cohesive narrative. Writers Helen Fielding, Richard Curtis, Andrew Davies and Adam Brooks are obsessed with just how hi_lar_ious they were the last time around and can’t resist condensing many of the funny scenes from “Bridget Jones’s Diary” into an unnecessary half-hour recap. Only this time, in a desperate attempt to up the ante, they’ve forced poor Bridget into the most ridiculous, contrived situations possible, only to deliver a rehashed punch line. Instead of having Bridget sliding down a fireman’s pole and landing butt-first on the camera in one of the eternally hokey sequences from her news show, “Sit Up, Britain,” she must skydive into a pigsty and then land butt-first on the camera. Similar treatment is given to the requisite “Bridget embarrasses herself at a formal function” bit, “Bridget embarrasses herself at a family function” bit, and “Bridget embarrasses herself in front of Cleaver” bit.

It’s a pity that the humor is forced upon the movie rather than allowed to grow organically from Bridget’s character. Zellweger has continued to make Bridget one of the most likable women to hit the screen — with her muddled behavior, erratic thought process, and portly body, she’s far easier to identify and laugh with (okay, at) than the impossibly perfect Julia Roberts or Andie MacDowell. Her very nature is whimsically hilarious, so stunts like skydiving only detract from the focus on Bridget herself.

Hopelessly trying to escape the specter of the first film, Bridget breaks up with Darcy for spurious reasons — “You could never muster the strength to fight for me,” she sighs, although, if I recall, he landed some pretty hefty punches on Hugh Grant on her behalf — and heads with Cleaver to Thailand. And while this leads to some brief amusement, it’s essentially an abridged version of her relationship with Cleaver from the original, this time with Thai food.

Though more bizarre and exotic, “The Edge of Reason” is a far cry from its fun and spontaneous prequel. It’s proof positive that sometimes by taking a familiar story to new heights, you’re simply plunging it into old depths.

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