Bridget Jones (adorably played by Renee Zellweger) is an unattached 30-something who realizes she's got to change her life. After a New Year's Eve, she vows that this new year is the one in which she'll get her act together. She'll lose weight, she'll smoke and drink less, and she'll document it all in a diary.
Complicating everything is Bridget's attraction to her boss, Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant), a man of questionable character. They launch an affair and Bridget falls for him head over heels, only to realize later that her feelings aren't reciprocated, when her boss gets engaged to another woman. Thrown into the mix is barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), who admittedly finds Bridget attractive but whom Bridget finds repulsive.
It won't be until Bridget clearly sees the truth about Daniel, that she also clearly sees Mark for the man he is, and her feelings for him for what they really are.