Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger), that lovable loser and plump klutz who brags that she can find happiness even though her "bum is as big as two bowling balls," is back with her slapstick schtick in BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON. A woman suffering from a permanent case of foot-in-the-mouth disease, she has two gorgeous guys, her current boyfriend, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), and an old flame, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), who see irresistible charms in her that most would miss. An embarrassment wherever she goes, she is currently so deeply in love with Mark that she drives him crazy by staring at him as he sleeps.

The movie, which opens with a sequence of Bridget parachuting into a big batch of pig excrement, doesn't get much better than this awful moment of non-comedy. Typical of the movie's humor is the time that Bridget tries to squeeze into an evening gown several sizes too small by using that old 1950's aid -- a girdle. She looks absolutely ridiculous as she waddles around like a penguin, which isn't the same thing as actually being funny.

The movie has a single saving grace -- Grant in a small role as a salacious television reporter who circumnavigates the globe delivering sleazy travel stories from around the world: "When in Rome, do as many Romans as you can," and "New York, where 'Sex and the City' isn't just a program -- it's a promise." You'd better enjoy his ditties since they provide the few opportunities for laughter in this film whose central thesis is that fat is so funny that a decent script is superfluous.

BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON runs 1:45. It is rated R for "language and some sexual content" and would be acceptable for teenagers.