Return to Me (2000)

Sadly Over-hyped

hyped garbage

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The old song says "you've got to have heart" and heart is what this film is all about. Crusty curmudgeons beware; this film is dripping with romantic sap. If you're a sucker for implausibly perfect romances (I am) this is two hours well spent. If your hero is Ebenezer Scrooge you will absolutely hate this film.David Duchovny plays Bob Rueland, owner of a successful construction company and husband of Elizabeth, his beautiful, charming wife. Early in the film, the couple is in an auto accident. She does not survive. He does, but in body only. If you think of the grieving Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle you've got the picture here.Minnie Driver plays Grace Briggs, an invalid desperately in need of a heart transplant. The end of Elizabeth's life provides a new beginning for Grace. Some time later, Grace and Bob meet but neither of them are aware that the heart that he is missing is the heart that beats inside of her. Who will realize it first? How will it affect their relationship? These are the questions that drive the film through the second act.The real heart of the film is relationships. The splendid ensemble cast is part of what makes this film work. The supporting characters are rich portraits of "urban villagers" in ethnic Chicago. Grace is a waitress at an Irish-Italian pub where her grandfather (Carol O'Connor) and his friends play poker and argue about which country produced the greatest singers. The Irishman argues for Bing Crosby, the Italian friend comes up with Sinatra, Martin, Lanza, and more, and the Polish friend is left with Bobby Vinton. I grew up in a Chicago neighborhood where most of my classmates were Polish, Italian, or Greek. I remember similar debates between Myron Dyzurko, Angelo Benedetto, and Quincy Barteslewski. This geriatric "gang of four" is part of the charm of this film, the Chicago setting just adds to it.Minnie Driver is charming as Grace, but she gets great support from the second tier. In addition to the fearsome foursome, Bonnie Hunt reprises her role as supportive best friend. Hunt has played similar roles in Jerry Maguire and Only You and she is perfect for this part. Jim Belushi plays her husband and provides some great humor throughout the film. But Hunt is ultimately the star of this show since she is one of four people given credit for the story, one of two given credit for the screenplay, and is the director of record. Hunt's direction is occasionally unconventional but her timing is flawless and the end result is wonderful.This is not a profound film or even a great film, but it is certainly fun and will warm the heart. This film will be of no help if you need a heart transplant, but if you happen to be in need of a tune-up, you might want to give it a try.

Modern-day romance gets by on its sheer sincerity and the gentle, affable performances, even if contrivances are in abundance. Construction engineer in New York City (David Duchovny) loses his wife in a car accident, though her heart lives on via an organ transplant. The recipient (Minnie Driver) is a sweet-natured waitress working in her grandfather's Irish-Italian restaurant; she chances to meet the widower, but how long will it take for them both to realize the miraculous turn of events which has occurred? Director Bonnie Hunt (who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars as Driver's girlfriend) pushes too hard in making the supporting characters--a colorful gaggle of family and friends--wacky and wonderful; however, the lovestruck twosome at the center of the story are nicely grounded and understated. The picture has a fresh, glossy look, though it ambles about in search of warm and fuzzy moments, finding its happily-ever-after footing in the final third. **1/2 from ****

Bob (David Duchovny) and Elizabeth Rueland (Joely Richardson) are happily married. After a fundraiser, they get into a car accident and she is killed. Meanwhile, sickly Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) is in the hospital and she gets transplanted with Elizabeth's heart. About one year later, Grace is still self-conscious about the heart transplant. Her family (Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia) runs an Irish-Italian restaurant. Bob is heart broken and his best friend Charlie (David Alan Grier) keeps trying to set him up. Sparks fly when Grace meets Bob at the restaurant but they don't know their other connection.Duchovny and Driver have adorable chemistry together. That's why the movie needs to bring them together sooner. A much more tighter opening would be very helpful. Written by Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake, there are a lot little charming jokes from everybody especially the side characters. It's very much a comedy from many character actors. A lot of it is very funny. This is a very sweet comedic romance.

I'll start by confessing that I generally regard romantic comedy as one of the most dishonest, cynical genres in Hollywood filmmaking, because so many of them follow the same precalculated formula: set up some cockeyed premise and then employ a series of outlandish plot devices to manipulate the audience's emotions in precisely calibrated ways from first frame to last. I approached this one with especially low expectations because of the brazenly contrived gimmick at its core (a grieving young widower unwittingly falls in love with the recipient of his beloved wife's transplanted heart) and its male lead, David Duchovny. I enjoyed Duchovny's tongue-in-cheek performance in the X-Files despite the fact that I never thought he could act a lick. The idea of him as romantic lead in a situation like this had me dreading an afternoon wasted.Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. This is a terrific movie that deftly avoids over-exploiting its basic plot device, instead telling its story in honest, affectionately rendered details and relying on the team play of a marvelously unselfish cast, each of whom is given a turn to shine (even the bit players). Each actor takes full advantage of their opportunities without attempting to upstage the others. One of the things I enjoyed most was how comfortable and familiar the cast are with one another; the whole movie works because of it. The result is characters and a story line that draw you in and make you feel like you know the people involved - and better yet, that they really know and care for one another in the casually intimate way that only the closest-knit friends and families can. This is wonderful ensemble acting led by a director with a light but capable touch. Even Duchovny manages to hold his own among much better actors, delivering some surprisingly earnest scenes and painting his character with appealing honesty and humility.This isn't a perfect movie. It has a slightly TVish feel and there are predictable moments and flat notes here and there, but an ample supply of small delights make up for it ("What was God thinking?"). The strength of this movie is in its performances, and in the decision of the writers and director Bonnie Hunt to establish the initial premise, then let go of it and concentrate on fleshing out well-drawn relationships between engaging characters we can identify with and care about.If you liked "50 First Dates" with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, you'll love this. Much broader in its appeal than your standard romcom chick flick, this is a warm, satisfying story about the lifesaving power of love and family.