But Isn't Bridget a Brit?

Every reader, devouring a favorite book, has already made the movie version. As we flip the pages and sink into the web of words, we reflexively mouth the dialogue, envision the characters, view the scene from an ironic distance or in a closeup that captures the subtlest smile or tear. When the book is one as cherished as Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary, any "real" film version can seem like a kidnapping. And when the producers announce that they have chosen a Texas gal to play the uniquely London Bridget, outrage is in store. Through the literate universe rings a...

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