Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Colin Firth wins this movie in a reindeer sweater, and Hugh Grant loses it in a smirk. That’s the fun of Bridget Jones’s Diary: two very British men competing to be the most awkward person in the room, and Renée Zellweger running circles around both. Her Bridget is clumsy, honest and quick, and her British accent never slips into a cartoon. The big problem is the counting. The movie keeps a running tally of her weight like it’s a scoreboard, and treating a perfectly normal woman as a project has aged badly. The fight between Firth and Grant outside a restaurant is the funniest, flailiest brawl in any romcom, two grown men slapping like they’ve never seen a punch. Jim Broadbent, as Bridget’s quietly heartbroken dad, gives the whole thing some real weight. It made $282.1 million worldwide on a reported $25M. A 6.9 because the jokes and the leads still land, and the diary’s math doesn’t. $3,921 says you see an ugly holiday sweater this December and think, with total sincerity, that it might be romantic.

What works: Renée Zellweger is a fearless comic lead, and the Firth versus Grant rivalry is a gift, especially their hilariously bad fistfight.

What doesn’t: The constant counting of Bridget’s weight treats a perfectly normal woman like a problem to fix, and it has aged badly.

Who it’s for: Romcom fans who like their heroines messy and their love interests stiff and British.