[Anchor] It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.
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This week Woody Allen is back with a new romance/comedy/drama set in the 1930s - Cafe Society. Fast forward to next week, and the third part in what has become a Bridget Jones trilogy, Bridget Jones’s Baby, hits us with a smattering of sweet charm.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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Cafe Society (2016, Woody Allen)
A Bronx native moves to Hollywood and falls in love.

The bittersweet romance Cafe Society features Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, two actors who have collaborated before.

The movie follows Bronx-born Bobby Dorfman to Hollywood, where he falls in love with the secretary of his powerful uncle . Upon his return to New York he is swept up in the vibrant world of high society nightclub life. Centering on events in the lives of Bobby's colorful Bronx family, the film is a glittering showcase for the movie stars, socialites, playboys, debutantes, politicians, and gangsters who epitomized the excitement and glamour of the age.

While not up to par with Allen’s best, the film does serve up lovely visuals and charming performances - Eisenberg and Stewart have an established chemistry now. If you’re feeling nostalgic, go see Cafe Society.


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Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016, Sharon Maguire)
Bridget finds herself pregnant, and only 50% sure of the dad.

Opening next week is Bridget Jones’s Baby, which reunites Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth. This time around they’re joined by Patrick Dempsey as our heroine Bridget finds herself unexpectedly expecting.

After breaking up with Mark Darcy, played by Firth, Bridget Jones's ‘happily ever after’ hasn't quite gone according to plan. Forty-something and now single again, she decides to focus on her job as a top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget seems to have everything completely under control. What could possibly go wrong? But her love life takes a turn when she meets a dashing American named Jack, played by Dempsey, the suitor who is everything Mr. Darcy is not. In an unlikely twist she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch...she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby's father.

Although it’s arriving a full 12 years after the first sequel, which was fairly poorly reviewed, this third installment finds its legs, and its heart.. It’s sweet, funny, and satisfying - that rare third go that still finds its audience and meets expectations.