Toni Collette Doesn't Regret Turning Down 'Bridget Jones's Diary'

[hewontgo]

Toni Collette Doesn't Regret Turning Down 'Bridget Jones's Diary': 'Life Happens as It's Meant To' https://t.co/svoLJ7qHnh
- People (@people) April 14, 2023
The actress has no regrets in her career, and that includes turning down the lead role in the Bridget Jones franchise. Toni Collette, 50, addressed the role that ultimately went to Renée

Comments

[puramierda]

she played that type of character in In Her Shoes which is a far superior movie anyway

[__onthebound]

I LOVE THAT MOVIE

[poordat]

Why would she want to do Bridget’s Diary when she already did Muriel’s Wedding and it was an infinitely better spin on the concept?

[insomniachobs]

Muriel's Wedding was a far better movie and having done one you wouldn't need to do both, but I don't think it was the same concept at all. Superficially both have female protagonists who are down on themselves and seek external validation through romance, but Bridget is pretty straight down the line Pride and Prejudice AU fan fiction through a 'single British women in the 90s' lens. Muriel is darker and far more about neglect and self-acceptance

[poordat]

If we just judge them as Pride and Prejudice adaptations then one certainly fits that concept better, but IMO "women who fail to meet socially accepted metrics seeking external validation through the trappings of heterosexual romance" is more than a superficial similarity because I think it's the core of both films.

The brass tacks of both movies are women who desire happiness and fulfillment. Both movies have a protagonist obsessed with an unrealistic fantasy steeped in the social expectations of their time. BJD's fantasy is more... let's call it idealized, and it is validated by her having men fight over her and getting the guy in the end. Muriel's fantasy is ultimately shown for the facade it is, and her reward at the end is genuine self-actualization as she grows into the person she would like to be on her own terms, under her own steam. The fact that self-acceptance is such an important part of MW and largely absent in BJD is why MW is the superior version of the archetype, I'd say.

[insomniachobs]

I wound up rambling so let me stick this behind a spoiler cut (your fault, if you will go and have an interesting view that sends me on a thought train... lol)

[Spoiler (click to open)]I wouldn't judge MW as a Pride & Prejudice adaptation at all, it isn't one. BJD isn't solely about its links to P&P either, but its core is very much P&P which is why I personally class it as a very different film than MW. Perhaps "superficial" was too strong a word for the overlap, they do both spend a fair bit of time deconstructing the fantasy of heterosexual romance (albeit from different angles), but I don't feel they were fundamentally about the the same thing. ITA with your description of Muriel, but for me it doesn't fit Bridget

[nermal_kat]

Promoting Mafia Mamma while unironically discussing career regrets is... regrettable.

[la_petite_singe]

Lmao I was about to say

[genbu_no_miko24]

Renee was perfect in that role. The first Bridget Jones was great (great soundtrack too) but the 2nd was meh. Still haven’t seen the third.

[pciam]

This reminds me a bit of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Buffy. If the rumors are true she was in the running for both Cher in Clueless and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet but All My Children wouldn’t let her out of her contract.

But had that happened - SMG would’ve likely never done Buffy (which got me adolescent me through so much) and we all know Alicia was already great in Clueless. It always makes me think about how those 2 iconic properties could’ve been so different with just 1 casting choice difference lol.

[genbu_no_miko24]

Yeah I heard a while back that she had in talks for Romeo and Juliet which I can’t see but I am curious lol.

Had no idea about Clueless?! 😮!!

Yeah I agree about the serendipitous nature of casting haha!!

[insomniachobs]

I could see her doing a good job as Juliet, but Cher I think she'd have been wrong for. Alicia had an incredible lightness and innocence to her that was perfect for that role, whereas Sarah I think even at that age always read as very mature on screen.

[dandyxwarhol]

Wow I really would like to see that. I mean I like Renee in the role too. But I really wonder what it'd be like.