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Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
***1/2 out of *****
A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother comes into her life.
Then She Found Me is a suprising little film, with a directorial debut by Oscar winning actress Helen Hunt (As Good as it Gets). And by suprising, I mean suprisingly good. I was very thrown off by the preview when I fist saw it many months ago, and this isn't a movie I wanted to see as much as it was a movie I thought would be just another tick on the tally this year. I was very wrong. Then She Found Me isn't a movie that would appeal to a lot of people, but it was personally good enough for me. This was a very strong directorial debut for Hunt, and I applaud her.
The movie could be catergorized as a romantic drama, but really it's just a realistic drama about the struggles a woman may have in during a mid-life crisis. Hunts character is 39, and is afraid she me never have a baby of her own, which she so desperately wants. But at this time, her husband played by Matthew Broderick decides he isn't ready for any of it, and leaves her. The next day, her adoptive mother dies and the next day she meets a charming british man played by Colin Firth. It doesn't take long for them to fall for eachother. In the midst of this, her biological mother played by Bette Midler, surfaces. At first she lies about who the father is, and why she gave her up making her untrustworthy. At one point in the movie, Hunt finds out shes pregnat with Brodericks baby and some minor chaos ensues with a mini love triangle.
That may have been a lot I just said, and a lot of it may sound cliched in a movie like this. And it is, and it's not all that fresh, but it was done so well in my eyes that I was able to put all that behind me. It wasn't JUST about this romantic love triangle, it was about so many other things mainly just about...life and what we may all be destined to become. It was a well written screenplay, and Hunt did a good job bringing it to life. This character learns a lot about herself, and a lot about finding trust in people she never thought she could. It's also realistic in the sense that the film doesn't paint a pretty picture of happily ever after. In one scene Hunt explains to Firth that he has to know she will hurt him in small ways, and he will hurt her and either one of them could leave eachother at any point. That to to me is a refreshing take on this kind of story. Where the characters know that not all relationships, in fact most relationships aren't as perfect as they typically are in movies. Romantic and friendly relationships. There will be hardships, there will be struggles. But as along as you have love for eachother....
Helen Hunt may not have deserved her Oscar for As Good as it Gets, I mean she was good but I don't know about that good. But again, she proves me wrong. I thought she was excellent in this film. It was as very down to earth, real and moving performance. I never would have expected that kind of thing from her, I always still see her as that lady from Mad About You. It's also kind of hard to think that this is the woman from Twister! I also really loved Better Midler. Never really been a fan of hers acting or music wise, but she was just great here. Really funny, really charasmatic, she brought a lot to this character. Broderick and Firth were also both very well performed.
This isn't a "happy" movie by any means, and it may not lift your spirits very high, but I honestly recommend it, I found it to be quite good and a lot better than I was expecting.
To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Then She Found Me
*This is the 113th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
*This film is now on DVD.
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