Summary
Renée Zellwegermade her mark on romance movies with her iconic role inBridget Jones’s Diary, but that doesn’t mean her other classic projects should be overlooked. Throughout her career, Zellweger has established herself as a romantic lead to great acclaim, which has lent itself to all her performances. Zellweger might have started in the romance genre, but she’s contributed greatly to movies of all genres. She was in one of thebest movie musicals of the 21st centuryinChicagoandwon the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Judy Garland inJudyin 2019.
A large part of what distinguishes Zellweger and her performances is that she has incredible comedic timing and has often portrayed characters that are more relatable to large audiences.
Zellweger has been in some of thebest movies from the golden age of rom-coms. Though she isn’t quite associated with rom-coms like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock, her works have been just as influential. A large part of what distinguishes Zellweger and her performances is that she has incredible comedic timing and has often portrayed characters that are more relatable to large audiences.This makes her both appealing to watch and aspirational to viewersin a way that doesn’t alienate them. Watching a romantic film and feeling isolated from the story defeats the purpose of these narratives.
28%
69%
27%
76%
78%
60%
84%
80%
Renée Zellweger’s 15 Best Movies, Ranked
Over the past 30 years, the impressive career of Renée Zellweger has included acclaimed performances across comedy, drama, and musicals.
New in Town
Cast
New in Town is a romantic comedy directed by Jonas Elmer. The film stars Renée Zellweger as a high-powered consultant from Miami who is sent to a small town in Minnesota to restructure a manufacturing plant. Co-starring Harry Connick Jr., the film explores the cultural clash and eventual connection between Zellweger’s character and the local community.
Though Lucy leaves the big city for Ted’s small town to industrialize and cut costs, she finds much more than corporate success there.
New In Town’s premise follows familiar tropes, but it is easily redeemed by the chemistry between Zellweger and her costar, Harry Connick Jr. Though he’s best known for his contributions to the music industry, Connick Jr. has graced the screen in a few strong rom-coms likeNew In Town. The movie’s premise is well-worn, seeing Zellweger’s Lucy play the part ofa high-powered executive who unexpectedly falls in love with the handsome and down-to-earth stranger,Ted. Though Lucy leaves the big city for Ted’s small town to industrialize and cut costs, she finds much more than corporate success there.
The plot is on par with a Hallmark rom-com, butNew In Townhas enough tongue-in-cheek moments to make the audience that Zellweger and the movie are in on the joke. The film was released just before Zellweger took a hiatus from her intensive period as one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood. Its mostly negative reception gives a clear indication of why Zellweger might have been fed-up with the way the industry treats women and berates rom-coms. However,New In Townhas enough charm to make it worth revisiting.
Ewan McGregor plays another of Zellweger’s love interests, Norman Warne, after their first collaboration inDown With Lovea few years earlier. ThoughMiss Potteris much more subdued and traditionally romantic thanDown With Love, the spark the pair demonstrated in the more subversive comedy holds true in this sweeping biographical drama. Zellweger plays Beatrix Potter, the author of thePeter Rabbitbooks, as the story tracks her early career and rise to fame and fortune. Her relationship with Norman Warne is one of the inspirations for her best work.
There is a twinge of sadness found throughoutMiss Potter, as neither Beatrix nor Norman are able to express the extent of their love for as long as they want to. The societal pressures and expectations, along with the disapproval of Beatrix’s parents get in the way of her happiness throughout the narrative. However, by the end of the film,Beatrix has learned to be independent and that she has the power to decide her future, providing a positive moralto a bittersweet tale.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a romantic comedy sequel following the continued misadventures of Bridget Jones, played by Renée Zellweger. As she navigates the complexities of her relationship with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), Bridget finds herself entangled in a series of embarrassing and challenging situations. Directed by Beeban Kidron, the film also stars Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent.
After the success ofBridget Jones’s Diaryand the happy ending that Bridget and Mark received, there wasn’t a significant enough reason or conflict for the sequel to exist or recreate the cultural moment of the first film.
The second installment of theBridget Jonesfranchise might be the weakest,but it’s still a strong romantic comedy on its own. After the success ofBridget Jones’s Diaryand the happy ending that Bridget and Mark received, there wasn’t a significant enough reason or conflict for the sequel to exist or recreate the cultural moment of the first film. This results in a series of convoluted misunderstandings that all feel invented for the sake of keeping Bridget and Mark apart.
Overall,Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reasonwas better received by audiences than critics, butthis didn’t stop Zellweger’s performance from consistently being highlighted as one of the best parts of the project.The unlikely chemistry that she and Colin Firth established in the first installment carries over well, but this makes it all too easy to grow frustrated when Bridget and Mark can’t seem to make things work. Fortunately, it was popular enough to warrant the third film years later.
The Whole Wide World
The Whole Wide World is a biographical drama directed by Dan Ireland, featuring Vincent D’Onofrio as pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard and Renée Zellweger as school teacher Novalyne Price. Set in the 1930s, the film explores the complex relationship between Howard and Price, interweaving themes of creativity, ambition, and personal turmoil. Adapted from Novalyne Price Ellis’s memoir, it provides a poignant look into the life of the creator of Conan the Barbarian.
Loosely based on the true story of the ill-fated romance between the writer Robert E. Howard and the teacher Novalyne Price Ellis,The Whole Wide Worldtackles subjects about the intersection of art and love. The film looks at how creatives sacrifice so much and dedicate themselves to their work.One of the central conflicts inThe Whole Wide Worldis Robert’s inability to commit to a serious relationship with Novalyneand how much she has to give up to be with him.
Set in Texas in the 1930s,The Whole Wide Worlduses its styling and aesthetic to its advantage, transporting the viewer to an age gone by when pulp novels were at the height of their popularity. Zellweger proves she can be believable in any period, and it’s easy to sympathize with the frustrated Novalyne. While their love story doesn’t end in bliss and a happily ever after,it’s still a stirring piece that foreshadows some of Zellweger’s more serious and dramatic roles.
Bridget Jones’s Baby
The third film in the Bridget Jones franchise, Bridget Jones’s Baby stars Renee Zellweger returning to her role as Bridget Jones, who after finding out she is unexpectedly pregnant, must determine which one of her two recent flings the baby’s father is and attempt to decide who she wants to help her raise the child when it’s born. Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Jim Broadbent, and Emma Thompson also star.
Bridget Jones’s Babywears its silliness well and allows the audience to let loose and enjoy every moment of Bridget and Mark’s convoluted love story.
Over ten years after the first sequel,Bridget Jones’s Babywas released to mostly warm critical receptionas a fun-filled and inoffensive addition to theBridget Jonesfranchise.Bridget Jones’s Babymakes a strong case for its existence, as critics and fans were concerned that there was no real need for the third movie in the wake of so many failed remakes during the 2010s. However,Bridget Jones’s Babywears its silliness well and allows the audience to let loose and enjoy every moment of Bridget and Mark’s convoluted love story.
Updates forBridget Jones: Mad About The Boyhave piqued audience interest, and it will be interesting to see where Zellweger takes the franchise for its fourth installment. After the success ofBridget Jones’s Baby, it’s no wonder there’s more in store for Bridget, and Zellweger has been more than up to the challenge of playing Bridget as she ages.Bridget Jones’s Babyis an example of how women’s stories must be told during all phases of their lives and thatBridget will remain a paragon of the everywoman as she navigates growing older.
Down with Love
Down with Love is a romantic comedy directed by Peyton Reed, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Set in the early 1960s, the film follows the story of feminist author Barbara Novak who advocates for women’s independence from men, clashing with chauvinistic journalist Catcher Block. Their professional rivalry leads to a series of comedic and romantic entanglements, capturing the essence of the period with a modern twist.
The stylized and campyDown With Loveis doubtlessly one of Zellweger’s most underrated rom-coms.It sees her team up with McGregor for the first time before their reunion inMiss Porterthree years later. Before the modern rom-com came to be, the sex comedies of the 1950s and 1960s were all the rage, andDown With Loveis a satirical take on these types of narratives.Down With Lovefeatures an all-star cast outside the explosive leads, with Sarah Paulson, Rachel Dratch, and David Hyde Pierce all featured.
Within the narrative, Zellweger gets to subvert and redefine the romance tropes that she helped create in some of her most popular movies. Both Zellweger and McGregor had proved their talents in the musical genre withChicagoandMoulin Rouge, which influenced their casting, asDown With Lovefeatured original music and dance numbers. Despite its middling critical reception,Down With Lovehas become a beloved cult classic, and was well ahead of its time in its interrogation of feminist themesin rom-coms.
Jerry Maguire
High flying sports agent Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) has a crisis of conscience, and writes a heartfelt company-wide memo resulting in a swift termination of his services. Scrabbling to retain his athlete clients, Jerry starts his own management firm, with the only colleague who leaves with him - single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger). Retaining just one client, football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Jerry and Dorothy begin to fall in love as their new business venture struggles
The speech Jerry delivers proclaiming his love is an iconic scene in cinema.
ThebestJerry Maguirequotesare some of the best in any onscreen love story, even though the film deals heavily with sports and business. At its heart,Jerry Maguireis a romantic film. In one of his turns in a non-action movie,Tom Cruise plays the titular Jerry, a sports agent who teams up with Zellweger’s Dorothyto start their own agency that prioritizes agent-client relationships. However, it’s difficult for the pair to keep things professional as Jerry steps up to help Dorothy raise her son and shows how much he cares for her.
Jerry Maguireis regarded as a classic romance movie of the 1990s, and Zellweger’s continued success in the romance genre can be attributed in part to the exposure thatJerry Maguiregave her. Cruise is the star of the movie, withZellweger in the secondary role of romantic interest, but she’s still a character with desires and a drive to succeed,just as Jerry is. Additionally, it’s deeply romantic and touching to see the lengths Jerry goes to win over Dorothy. The speech Jerry delivers proclaiming his love is an iconic scene in cinema.
15 Best Friends-To-Lovers Romance Movies Ever Made
From intense dramas to playful rom-coms, friends-to-lovers story structure has formed the basis of countless romantic movies throughout the years.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Based on the novel by Helen Fielding, the rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary revolves around a 32-year-old single woman who keeps a diary of her life and romantic encounters. Starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant, the 2001 movie was a massive commercial and critical success.
The firstBridget Jonesmovie not only introduced Zellweger’s most defining character to the world, but it also has become a cultural touchstone in the rom-com genre.Bridget Jones’s Diaryhas been the subject of heated debate for years, as it was an entirely new breed of romance movie when it was released. Bridget was an imperfect heroine, and her love interests weren’t the dashing heroes of days past; they were just as messy as her. However, over twenty years later,Bridget Jones’s Diaryhas aged better than its competition.
Though the sequels weren’t quite as strong, their reason for existing is clear: people can’t get enough of Bridget and her misadventures.Renée Zellwegerfaced harsh criticism and invasive comments about her appearance and the way she played the role, which was symptomatic of the way women have been treated in the film industry for years. However, the endearing popularity ofBridget Jones’s Diaryproves that the best kinds of rom-coms are the ones that portray realistic and hilarious versions of their characters.
