TV journalist Bridget (Zellweger) is happy with gorgeous lawyer boyfriend Mark (Firth), but her insecurities make every day a drama of embarrassment and desperation. And it gets worse when Mark starts spending rather a lot of time with a lovely colleague (Barrett). Then Bridget's ex (Grant) reappears, and she has to go off to Thailand with him for work, where things quickly get even worse for our heroine.

Bridget's deep-seated insecurity is still the centre of the story, but while the first film used it to make her endearingly gawky, this one merely uses it to embarrass her; she's pathologically tactless, clumsy and obsessive. It's a fundamental sequel mistake, emphasising the wrong side of the main character's personality. And even her physicality is inappropriate--Bridget looked full-figured yet lovely in the first film, but here she's lumpy and awkward. It's impossible for us to like her now, and we don't believe Mark's undying love.

That said, Zellweger plays Bridget with flashes of spark and wit that keep us smiling. Firth is charming and intriguing, Grant has all the funniest lines, and the best sequence belongs to them both: the rematch bout! Phillips' is hilarious as Bridget's best pal, and gets more to do this time, travelling to Thailand with Bridget for adventures of her own. Although this segment devolves into one of the most appalling sequences in cinema all year (it involves a Thai prison and a Madonna song).

Basically the filmmakers lost touch with the real world that made the original film so enjoyable. The strong song score alternates between witty and obvious. The diary framework is only used sporadically. And what's left are mere glimpses of sharp insight, clever writing and astute acting. There's just no way the filmmakers can sell the emotional conclusion after making their central character a slapstick laughing stock.