Now that Thanksgiving a.k.a. Eat-Until-You-Hate-Yourself Day is over, it’s time for all things CHRISTMAS!
Along with binging on Christmas cookies and all the eggnog I can handle, I’m amped to indulge in my favorite classic holiday movies. The Christmas Story, Love Actually, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are holiday necessities.
But one that I loosely associate with this time of year and will include in the rotation is Bridget Jones’s Diary. Mostly because of the final scene when Bridget runs on to the snow covered streets in nothing but her undies and into the waiting arms of Darcy. *swoon*
There’s just something about a charmingly imperfect protagonist, who wears her flaws with a quirky kind of acceptance that makes a rom-com extra special. In the case of Bridget, she’s a 32-year-old woman, who is in a perpetual cycle of singledom and always looking for a new way to become slim and svelte. Though this is highly relatable for so many women in the real world, such aesthetic superficiality clashes with the new wave of feminism so prominent in pop culture today.
And in steps My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant.
This book parallels Bridget Jones in a few ways: a single female, who’s overweight, socially unconventional, and hilariously unfiltered. Unlike Bridget however, Bluebelle aka BB (the protagonist of My Ideal Boyfriend) isn’t trying to change herself at all. Brazen to the point of hostility about her positive body image, BB is big and beautiful. This puts BB in a bit of a pickle because she’s just suffered a massive asthma attack and, per her doctor’s orders, must now monitor her food intake with a food journal. For BB, this goes against everything she values – eating for enjoyment, embracing how she’s built, and telling others to stick their stereotypes of attractiveness right up their bums.
Along with bearing her self-love like a shield, Bluebelle also endures the tiresome back-and-forth romance of her parents, who appear to love and hate one another with equal ferocity. Fortunately for BB, she doesn’t have to endure their shenanigans solo. Dove, her younger sister who is a passionate practitioner of parkour and the polar opposite of BB in every way, is also her best friend and confidant. Their conversations are hysterical and have the capacity to make those of us without sisters a bit envious.
Bluebelle also has a love interest that involves her dreamy barista co-worker Max. As they work side-by-side in a local coffee shop, BB demonstrates all of the awkward things you probably shouldn’t do or say when you’re into someone…
As she writes, this becomes not only about documenting BB’s daily diet, but about discovering where she wants to go in life, what it truly means to love her body, and the importance of taking care of herself and the people closest to her.
I definitely laughed out loud a few times during Bluebelle’s eccentric, somewhat dramatic endeavors. And if you’re a fan of British witticism, there’s a healthy dose of that as well.
Happy & healthy reading!
Lexi
