Colin Firth And David Tennant Will Star In Bridget Jones Director's New Comedy

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https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/bridget-jones/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bridget Jones director Sharon Maguire has worked with https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/19/the-young-ones-rik-mayall-clips_n_5503534.html">The Young Ones writer Lise Mayer to adapt Alex Comfort’s 1972 book, The Joy Of Sex, into a comedy film.

This will star https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/colin-firth/">Colin Firth (Alex Comfort), https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/julianne-moore/">Julianne Moore (Jane Henderson), https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/Laura%20Linney">Laura Linney (Ruth Harris), Vicky Krieps, and https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/david-tennant/">David Tennant.

The movie will focus on a love triangle between husband and wife Alex and Ruth and Ruth’s uni friend, Jane Henderson.

It’ll also trace the origins of the manual.

The Joy Of Sex is an illustrated instructive text, marketed as a “https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-joy-of-sex-is-outdated-in-parts-but-still-a-fun-unanxious-romp-171930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sexual cookbook”, that depicted various positions and gave couples sex advice.

It sold 12 million copies and https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-joy-of-sex-is-outdated-in-parts-but-still-a-fun-unanxious-romp-171930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">changed how the public talked about Doing The Deed.

But its back story is – as Maguire seems to have recognised – a riveting story on its own.

The author, physician Alex Comfort, https://theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-joy-of-sex-is-outdated-in-parts-but-still-a-fun-unanxious-romp-171930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said he worked on the book with his then-mistress (his ex-wife’s former best friend). 

Not only that, but the poet claimed his private Polaroids of sex acts served as a basis for the illustrations in the book. 

The synopsis of the film https://deadline.com/2026/07/sharon-maguire-directs-colin-firth-julianne-moore-joy-of-sex-1237001551/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reads: “This unconventional throuple in the quiet suburbs of North London challenged societal norms, lasting 10 years.

“It was the laboratory where recipes outlined in the book, as well as the instantly recognisable hand-drawn sketches of hirsute hippies having sex, were born.

The book was erotic, funny, and wholesome, reinventing sex and love for ordinary people and giving them permission to enjoy sex for the first time ever.” 

Sharon Maguire https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/6a68aeb31400004ea5eaec9e.jpeg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" />Sharon Maguire 
https://deadline.com/2026/07/sharon-maguire-directs-colin-firth-julianne-moore-joy-of-sex-1237001551/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Speaking to Deadline, director and co-writer Sharon Maguire, who https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4722655/Shazzer-is-me-only-funnier.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Coventry, said: “The Joy of Sex was never allowed inside my Irish Catholic household in the ’70s.
“And as a result, its hidden promise had me in its thrall.

The irony is that the book was an unashamed sex guide for loving couples, yet it was created out of a somewhat tempestuous triangle.

“Dissecting this triangle lies at the heart of the movie.

It’s a story which is surprising, moving and very funny.”

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