PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVES

"Bridget Jones's Diary"
AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE

Before the opening credits are complete the largely female audience is laughing and already they are committed to enjoying themselves. Bridget Jones's Diary is an entertaining film and boyfriends, fathers and partners walk out of the cinema having enjoyed the entertainment as much as anyone.

It's good to see that more and more stories are being told where the protagonists are female even if the number of such productions is still far too low. Despite the female perspective this is an old fashioned story about how a "verbally incontinent spinster who smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and dresses like her mother" gets her man - a rich lawyer. As such there are many things about this film which are exceedingly predictable. Critics specifically nominate these deficiencies, for example there are too many manipulative "on again, off again" twists and turns in the plot they say (more than in the book apparently) and yet they and audiences love the movie. So what are the qualities that transcend the faults, for they obviously have significant potency?

The Source of the Potency
Those of you who have had discussions with me about the process of selecting an intention or "need" for a character know I believe that a fairly short list of options mostly serves a very satisfactory and functional purpose. This is because the most basic human desires are fairly simple ones universally shared over and over. And probably at the top of the list would be the need "to be loved" and "to be liked".

Everyone recognizes the potency of these basic psychological desires. Bridget Jones's Diary is a story based on both these needs but most significantly on the need "to be liked" or "to be approved of". The story is not shy about putting these concepts forward. It is plainly stated in the dialogue that being liked for who you are is a seldom achieved goal for the likes of Bridget and of course an undeniably wonderful thing when it happens - particularly if you are "being liked" by a rich lawyer. Obviously it is easy to mock these story ingredients, for put simply in black and white terms the story content is not particularly sophisticated - yet it works exceedingly well. It works because we all plainly understand how wonderful it is "to liked" or "to be approved of" for who we are. We will happily pay money to share this experience and leave the theatre uplifted.

There are of course other ingredients to the film's success. It is an energetic romp that is witty and more importantly optimistic. And of course it is about a woman's achievements and that is still unusual enough to attract attention on its own. But, without doubt, the story's strongest attraction is its simple message - "you can be liked for who you are".

FOOTNOTE: The success of this film is testament to the potency of those most basic human needs. It obviously doesn't need to be more complicated than this to generate a strong, universally understood bond with your audience. So take heart. If you are thinking of basing your next performance around a character whose basic "need" is "to be liked" but you are worried that it is too simple and not an intellectual or complex enough choice, then stop worrying and start rehearsing. On the evidence you will probably be as successful as Bridget Jones.

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