Film Reviews

Then She Found Me

• Rating:
• Director: Helen Hunt
• Starring: Bette Midler
• Details: US / 100mins (15A).

Helen Hunt's debut as a director attempts to make a serious romantic comedy but suffers the problems one would expect. Hunt plays April Epner, a 39-year-old teacher married to the childish Ben (Broderick), but ten months into the marriage Ben wants out. When her adoptive mother dies, April is contacted by her real mother, minor TV celebrity Bernice (Midler). Before she has time to come to terms with all that, April falls for single father Frank (Firth), but then Ben wants her back and she finds she's pregnant with his child...

Although romantic and funny in places, and serious in others, the problems with The She Found Me is in its tone. Ranging from mildly amusing (the events are never hilarious) to real drama in the blink of an eye, the audience is never allowed to get into a comfort zone. The high number of crap moments (why does Salman Rushdie cameo as a doctor and where does Firth disappear to after the ultrasound?) don't help. Everything seems to happen because the story demands it, instead of being true to character; Firth and Hunt fall in love far too early to render their relationship believable while Midler's white lies, which forces Hunt to question is she really who she says she is, are only there to create a little tension in the middle act. Hunt is fine, Midler enjoys being on screen again and Firth does his nervous English gentleman one more time, but its Broderick that looks unsure of how to play Ben and his bemused face suggests he can't fathom why he's in the film. There's plenty to like about Then She Found Me, but not enough.

Review by Gavin Burke