Cast: David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Grier, James Belushi, Joely Richardson
Director: Bonnie Hunt
Producer: Jennie Lew Tugend
Screenplay: Bonnie Hunt & Don Lake
Cinematography: Laszlo Kovacs
Music: Nicholas Pike
U.S. Distributor: MGM
Movies do not have to be art to be entertaining. Nowhere is this more evident than in an enchanting piece of fluff like Return to Me. Two parts romantic comedy and one part drama, Return to Me has enough heart to satisfy those who crave a little substance, and enough light romance to appease those on the lookout for a great date movie. And, thanks to a script whose jokes possess some zest and zing, the film avoids sliding down the slippery slope into half-baked melodrama. Granted, Return to Me doesn't break any new ground, but the ingredients are blended in such a way that the final concoction, although familiar, is nevertheless enjoyable.
Return to Me is the cinematic child of actress-turned-filmmaker Bonnie Hunt. This is the directorial debut for Hunt, the character actor/comedienne whose face is arguably better known than her name (her highest profile part to date is probably as Renee Zelweger's sister in Jerry Maguire). In addition to helming Return to Me, Hunt also developed the story, co-wrote the screenplay, and has a supporting role on camera. She obviously has an affinity and aptitude for this kind of material, rarely striking a sour note even though there are plenty of opportunities to do so. Hunt manages the tricky task of balancing drama, comedy, and romance, and, as a result, avoids unnecessary silliness, lugubriousness, and moments of extreme sugar shock.
The two leads, David Duchovny and Minnie Driver, possess that key intangible which can make even the dumbest romantic comedy work on some level: chemistry. They connect. It doesn't demand much suspension of disbelief to accept that fate has decreed that their characters are meant to be together. Driver, who regularly moves back and forth between larger, Hollywood-type productions and smaller, less flamboyant ones, has already shown an ability to play one half of a couple in this kind of film (for examples, see An Ideal Husband and Grosse Pointe Blank). Return to Me will only enhance her reputation as a leading lady. She's as appealing here as Sandra Bullock or Meg Ryan at their peaks. Then there's David Duchovny, who is using this film as an opportunity to step away from his "X Files" profile. Those willing to unburden him of his considerable baggage as Agent Muldur will find that Duchovny is a capable romantic lead.
The film opens with parallel stories, both taking place in Chicago. In one, a happily-married couple, Bob and Liz Rueland (Duchovny and Joely Richardson), are attending a fund-raiser being held for the Lincoln Park Zoo, where Liz works. In the other, a young woman, Grace (Driver), is lying sick in a hospital bed awaiting a heart transplant while her sister, Megan (Hunt), looks on anxiously. What happens next is a tragic irony: Grace's life is saved when Liz is killed in an accident. Within months, she is at home, leading a normal life. The same cannot be said of Bob, whose entire world has crumbled around him.
Skip ahead a year. Grace is fully recovered from the operation and is working as a waitress at her grandfather's place, "O'Reilly's Italian Restaurant". Bob, trying to get his life back on track, goes there on a blind date, but loses interest in his companion when he spies Grace. The attraction between them is as mutual as it is immediate. Of course, neither realizes that Liz's heart beats in Grace's breast, and the question of how the characters will react when they learn this truth (as they surely must) provides a little suspense, since there's no uncertainty about whether these two will end up together. That is, after all, what the formula demands.
Much of the film's comedy - or at least the most obvious moments - come from a small group of supporting characters. They include Carroll O'Connor (TV's Archie Bunker from "All in the Family"), Robert Loggia, Hunt, and James Belushi. O'Connor plays Grace's very Irish grandfather and Loggia is the Italian chef in his kitchen. The banter between these two is priceless and contains some of the film's most clever dialogue (their argument about dead Irish singers versus dead Italian singers is priceless). Belushi, as Megan's husband, plays the part he is best suited for: the graceless slob with a heart of gold.
As was true of Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother, Return to Me uses the transplanted heart as a means to ponder fate. This movie doesn't dwell on the implications, but you'd have to be hopelessly ignorant not to wonder how much of Liz entered Grace alone with the heart. (After all, a "heart" is thought of as so much more than any other internal organ.) This is a question that the film can't answer, but it provides clues along the way. For example, Grace has an unnaturally close rapport with Liz's beloved gorilla, Sydney, and, the sense of recognition between Bob and Grace is unusually strong. However, for those who aren't interested in thinking too much during a romantic comedy, there's no need to worry. Return to Me doesn't delve too deeply into philosophical musings about fate - at least no more deeply than Norman Jewison did in either Moonstruck or the Robert Downey Jr./Marisa Tomei movie, Only You.
These days, an increasing number of romantic comedies feature teenagers, leaving a void for those who enjoy these kinds of stories with slightly older characters. Return to Me fills that breach, and does so with admirable restraint. There's enough emotion in the interaction of the characters that there's no need for a big, over-the-top finale or the inclusion of an old boyfriend or girlfriend to provide romantic complications. Watching Return to Me is not a trailblazing experience, nor is it intended to be, but Bonnie Hunt proves to be an expert tour guide through this familiar terrain. Despite sticking pretty much to the expected formula, Return to Me manages to disarm with its charm and delight with its bite.
© 2000 James Berardinelli