Picking up a few weeks after where Bridget Jones Diary left off, the sequel to the Oscar-nominated comedy, Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, is virtually a carbon copy of the original, but lacking it freshness. So it says a heck of a lot for the charm of its fine cast that the film makes for enjoyable viewing and draws a good quotient of smiles and giggles, its saggy bits not withstanding.

Once again, Renee Zellweger bloats up to fill the shoes and outside granny panties of the title character, a clumsy Brit who, after years of being without a partner,has now found love. Having ditched cad and former boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) in favour of sauve, stiff-upper-lip lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) , quirky Bridget is on cloud nine. But her increasing clinginess and paranoia starts to rock the love boat and matters come to a head when Darcy is suspected of having an affair with an attractive young intern.

To exacerbate matters, smooth-talking Cleaver reappears and he and Bridget are sent off to Thailand together to film a series of television travelogue featurettes. It’s at this point, inspite of Grant's sparkle, to scramble for padding, a silly intrusion involving Bridget sharing a cell with hookers and teaching them the correct lyrics of a Madonna song.

But if the humour remains hinged on slapstick and set-pieces, it still adds up to fun, although I'd have liked to have seen more of Bridget parents and family this time around. There are also quibbles that we might have had a better picture had the script been more faithful to the novel of the same name than the mechanics of the first movie.

The film, directed by Beeban Kidron gets a rating of 7/10. – Billy Suter