The problem with diaries is that not every entry will be scintillating and often there's more repetition than originality.

This is the problem that faces Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. There are some genuinely hilarious moments in The Edge of Reason, but too much of it seems like a rehash of the delightful and blissfully charming Bridget Jones's Diary.

The great news is that all the principals and all the devilish supporting characters are back, so it's like some great little reunion party.

The Edge of Reason picks up just weeks after Bridget Jones's Diary left off.

Bridget (Renee Zellweger) is now in a rip-roaring good relationship with lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and that womanizing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is off circling the globe for his new TV travel show.

As much as this is what we all hoped would happen, it would make for excessively dull viewing after the first two or three wild bedroom romps with Darcy constantly assuring Bridget that he loves all her "wiggly" bits.

Bridget needs an excuse to sabotage her new-found happiness and that comes in the form of Darcy's sexy new secretary Rebecca (Jacinda Barrett).

Convinced Darcy and Rebecca are having an affair, Bridget begins spying on them, which provides one of the better slapstick moments in the first 20 minutes.

Darcy keeps insisting it's the full-figured Bridget he loves, but she keeps storming out, making him come pleading to be allowed back into her life and bed.

The first time this happens, its funny and sweet. The next two times are grating and Bridget clearly has only herself to blame when her lapdog doesn't beg for more of this silly, senseless abuse.

It takes everything Zellweger can muster to get audiences back on Bridget's side.

On cue, Cleaver slithers back into her life and Grant saves The Edge of Reason from sinking.

Suddenly he and Zellweger are sparring -- both verbally and physically -- especially when they end up together in Thailand to film an episode of his TV show.

Four writers, including novelist Helen Fielding and the ever witty Richard Curtis, have difficulty giving The Edge of Reason any real momentum, although they do inject some terrific mayhem.

Bridget lies about being able to ski when Darcy invites her on a vacation to the Swiss Alps and the result is hilarious.

Zellweger is now a master of the pratfall and she gets her share of them in The Edge of Reason at black-tie parties, on the ski hill and on the beaches of Thailand.

Zellweger even manages to make Bridget's stay in a Thai prison bubbly as she teaches her fellow inmates the words to Madonna's Like a Virgin and they teach her what real emotional abuse is all about.

The Edge of Reason is pleasant escapism and it reminds us how much fun a picture can be when the actors are comfortable in the skins of their characters.

(This film is rated 14-A)

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