Customer Reviews

Return to Me

5 star:		(181)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Director and co-writer Bonnie Hunt delivers the goods in "Return To Me," a touching story of two deserving people who are afforded a second chance at love and happiness. When we meet Grace (Minnie Driver), she is suffering with heart disease and awaiting a donor for a transplant. Architect-builder Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) is happily married to Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), they are deeply in love, and Hunt quickly establishes just how perfect their lives are together; so perfect, in fact, it becomes somewhat unsettling because you know that tragedy of some kind or other is imminent. When it comes, the transition is handled succinctly and with the skill of a seasoned professional. When Elizabeth dies, Grace receives her heart. A year later, Bob, still mourning the loss of his wife, meets Grace at the Irish-Italian restaurant owned by her grandfather (Carroll O'Connor), where she works as a waitress. Neither are aware of the intimate link they share to the heart that has given Grace her life. In the hands of a less savvy director, the story at this point could easily go astray and become mired in coincidence and cliche. Hunt never comes close to allowing this to happen, however, and instead hits every note squarely on the head so that the plot fairly resonates with precision and timing. A veteran character actress herself (she plays Grace's closest friend, Meg, here), she seems to know instinctively just when to add the right light touch to offset the drama, then fleshes it all out with an array of great characters,especially Robert Loggia, as Angelo, the "Greatest Italian chef in Chicago," and James Belushi as Meg's husband, Joe. There are no wasted moments in this film; the story moves right along and takes you with it. The dialogue is often witty and always real; in a scene between Grace and Meg that takes place in the hospital (prior to their notification that a donor has been located), in which Grace can barely draw a breath, she looks up at Meg and says one word, "Rosebud." After Elizabeth dies, when Bob finds himself alone at home and finally breaks down, Hunt gives the scene time to build and play out, so that it rings true instead of being glossed over and simply used as a tool to move the story along. When it happens we, as an audience, are also afforded that time to realize the suffering he's experiencing, and it allows us to feel it as well. The scene in which Grace, Meg and Joe are at home awaiting a dinner guest (a former priest), is beyond hilarious. Highlighting an exceptional cast, David Duchovny and Minnie Driver are unforgettable as Bob and Grace; and the multi-talented Bonnie Hunt rises to a whole new level of artistic merit for giving us a truly memorable and heart-warming movie that is a joy to experience. Written by Hunt and Don Lake, "Return To Me" is a delight from beginning to end, the kind of film one waits for to come along. Hopefully, in the future Hunt will treat us to even more movies of this caliber.

"Return To Me" is a very likeable romantic comedy starring David Duchovny, breaking away from X-Files mold, and the always engaging Minnie Driver. While we wait for kismet to bring these two characters together, we are treated to a fine (and impressive) supporting cast of characters head by Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, David Alan Grier, James Belushi, and writer-director Bonnie Hunt. There is little suspense that the two main characters will find each other and in the end find new life and love -- but this is the movies after all!

For DVD buyers and renters, the true gem is the audio commentary by Bonnie Hunt and co-writer Don Lake. This highly recommended bonus to the DVD version is at least worth another "star." Hunt, who is one of the best interviewees on talk shows, engages in a informative and a very humorous dialogue with Lake throughout the movie. By all means, after watching the movie go back and watch the movie again with Hunt and Lake. Hunt's dry humor will make you laugh out loud at times as she speaks of her bad make-up job in her first scene to the seemingly dozens of family members that she placed throughout the film. You will also get a real appreciation for the art of film-making. "Return To Me" was Hunt's directorial debut and it is fascinating to listen to the care and meticulous detail that she placed into this film (music selections, editing, etc.). It is definitely one of the best audio-commentary tracks that I have heard to date and almost makes you even like the film more.

This is perhaps one of the most underrated movies I have ever seen.
David Duchovny and Minnie Driver star as Gracie Briggs and Bob Rueland, two people who are brought together with more than fate, but also a heart. When disaster and devastation hits Bob, he unselfishly donates his wife's organs. Gracie is in desperate need for a heart after suffering for many years with heart disease. Her heart finally does come, at the most needed moment, and it is a special heart at that.
It takes over a year for Bob to get back in the dating scene, and that's only with help from Charlie played by David-Alan Grier. When the date lands them in Gracies grandfather's (Carroll O'Connor) restaurant, Gracie is their waitress, and it's love at first sight, and their lives will be forever changed.
There is also great classic songs that sprinkle this movie with class and romance. Songs like "At Long Last Love" by Frank Sinatra and "Tenderly" by Jackie Gleason finish the movie off without any hitches only adding more detail. Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake take their first stab at writing, directing, and starring in Return To Me, and I must say it is one movie that reminds me the most of the classic romances of long ago.
Please note that if you like this film, Bonnie and Don are writing and directing a tv show on ABC this fall, called Life With Bonnie. Bonnie stars in this along with many of the stars from Return To Me. If her show is anything like the movie, then ABC will have a hit for sure!

This is a delightful movie, the kind of innocent romantic comedy they used to make when Cary Grant was in his heydey and making them. Duchovny plays Bob Rueland, a handsome architect very much in love with his wife. His heart is broken when he loses her in a car accident. He follows her wishes and donates her organs for transplant. The recipient is Minnie Driver's character, spunky Grace Briggs, dying of heart disease far too young. Caroll O'Connor plays her doting grandfather who raised her and Bonnie Hunt, who wrote and directed the film, stars as Grace's best friend. Fate plays a funny trick and Bob and Grace end up meeting. There's an immediate spark between the two -- Duchovny and Driver do a wonderful job with this without going over the top. It isn't until later that Bob and Grace find out that she has his dead wife's heart. The chemistry between Duchovny and Driver is terrific. The supporting cast is also excellent -- a real joy. The end result is a fantastic movie that will actually make you feel good.

I went to this movie thinking, ok, KNOWING I'd absolutely hate it! My beloved picked it for our anniverary flick. I figured I was doomed. Instead, I loved it! David Dechovny (The X-Files' Mulder) and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) were great together as Bob and Grace! Cynical as I am, I actually believed they loved each other! You probably know the plot by now, about how Grace (Driver) is in need of a new heart and ends up receiving Duchovny's wife (who dies in an accident)'s heart. Now, this sounds like it could veer off into pitter-pat-land, but Bonnie Hunt (writer / director / co-star) keeps it cool! There's lots of humor and sarcasm. Bonnie Hunt and Jim Belushi are hysterical as Grace's married (with children) friends. Carrol O'Conner and Robert Loggia shine as co-owners of the restaurant where Grace works (O'Conner's character is her grandather). David Alan Grier is excellent as Bob's best friend. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there's romantic stuff too! It's not overly gooshy, so, even though there were no killer cyborgs, explosions, or gun battles, etc., I found myself really enjoying this movie! Highly recommended...

This is a really wonderful movie and so unlike just about every other Hollywood film these days, even other romantic comedies. There is no gratuitous sex or violence (aside from Elizabeth's death, which is sort of required to get the plot moving) and amazingly, it is a movie the whole family (kids, parents, grandparents, and yes, even GUYS) can see and enjoy. Rarely does that happen these days. Bonnie Hunt has always presented herself as having a great sense of humor, but that isn't the only thing that shines in this movie. It is heartwarming and, despite the somewhat unbelievable plot, very very real. It will make you laugh and cry. The situations that the characters find themselves in are moving and they deal with them in a very realistic way. Minnie Driver is a good actress and I enjoyed her in this role very much. David Duchovny is such a wonderful actor and although I'm sure the poor guy is getting tired of references to his X-files persona, Fox Mulder, he really proves here that he's so much MORE than that. He is really charming and sweet and you fall for him instantly. The supporting cast is also terrific and really, really funny. In short, this film isn't trying to win 'Best Picture of the Year' and it's premise is very simple, but it gives you a good feeling and leaves you smiling. In a world where it's cool to be cynical, Return to Me is really a breath of fresh air. And you can watch it again and again.

Before this movie I wasn't particularly a big fan of David Duchovny or Minnie Driver, but I have always been a huge fan of the multi-talented Bonnie Hunt. To my pleasant surprise, Duchovny and Driver soar in this movie with performances that are truthful, endearing, and in the end, so good, they make the film work on multiple levels. (So now I need to see their other movies!)

The oh-so-talented Hunt writes, directs, and acts in this wonderful story about people you wish you knew. To me the mark of a great film is one that is inhabited by characters you root for, that you love and that you hope make it through whatever they're enduring. In short it has characters you care for, and in this aspect "Return to Me" is a perfect ten. I thought I would never see this film--now it's one of my favorites of recent years. Carol O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Jim Belushi and a host of solid supporting actors/characters add to the joy that makes "Return to Me" such a gem. This DVD-version ranks among our family's favorite nights in front of the screen!

(By the way, I'd buy this DVD just for the music video "What if I Loved You", by Joey Giam. Who is this guy, and when is he going to cut the greatest album of big band music since Sinatra?! This video is full of the joy of music!)

The idea of a man falling in love with a woman, who has received the heart of his late wife in a transplant operation, is a story fraught with peril. One of the most wrenchingly emotional scenes I have ever seen on television was on "St. Elsewhere" where Jack Morrison (David Morse) listened to the heart of his wife beating in the body of another woman. So how "Return to Me" gets to that moment when Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) listens to the heart of his late wife, Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), beating in Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) is, at least for me, a delicate matter. Fortunately, this romantic comedy has Bonnie Hunt, not only playing Grace's best friend, Megan Dayton, but also as the director and the screenwriter, along with Don Lake. That means there are some brains to go along with ample heart in this romantic comedy from 2000.

"Return to Me" begins by going back and forth between the two characters in Chicago whose lives and love will collide. Bob is an architect and one of his planned projects is to create a new living space for the gorillas at the Lincoln Park Zoo where Elizabeth has been raising money for the effort. Meanwhile, Grace is in the hospital waiting for a heart and being visited by her grandfather, Marty O'Reilly (Carroll O'Connor), and her friend, Megan. On the night that a dinner is held to celebrate having raised enough money for the zoo project, there is an accident. We know that Elizabeth's heart is intended for Grace, so Hunt does not bother to play out everything. We do not see the accident because it is a necessary evil to the story, where the consequences matter much more than needlessly witnessing the event. Instead the preparations for the operation take place in contrast to Bob giving way to grief at the loss of the woman he loves. But something sweet happens: once Elizabeth's heart starts beating again, Bob finally finds enough peace to fall asleep.

We then come to the most delicate part of the story: how Bob and Grace will meet. There is an unspoken sense of magic behind what happens in this film, which would explain why it is that Bob and Grace first pass each other at the Monkey House at the Zoo. There is no meeting, but significantly enough Grace pauses because her heart has started to beat more rapidly. This is a good sign, and an even better one comes when he is persuaded by a friend, Charlie Johnson (David Alan Grier), to O'Reilly's Italian Restaurant. Grace works as a waitress in her grandfather's place, where the cooking is done by Angelo Pardipillo (Robert Loggia), and the ongoing debates are over the relative value of Irish (Bing Crosby) versus Italian (Dean Martin) singers. Bob's date is just not a nice person and when Grace flings back a zinger at her rude condescension, Bob is interested.

The rest of the movie obviously consists of tentative romance, where hand holding is more important than sex, and with the full understanding that at the point where they are happiest the truth will come out and have to be dealt with. At that point we get the movie's best line, "What was God thinking?" The line is so great because it is not only funny but it speaks to the film's persistent notion that there is a greater power at work here, even if it turns out to be simply love and not a mischievous deity. My only complaint, such as it is, would be that "Return to Me" fails to come up with a payoff at the end as good as the setup. Then again, the ending is predictable according to the formula, so it is hard to really come up with a great "how" under those circumstances. But the film is certainly sweet enough for you to weep at the right moments and even if you do not end up crying your eyes out, this is still a laudable effort.

Hunt and Lake also get credit for giving the supporting cast some great bits that justify their showing up. In addition to O'Connor and Loggia having fun at the Irish Italian restaurant, there are Eddie Jones, Marianne Muellerleile, and William Bronder to add zest to the spicy exchanges. There is only one deleted scene on this DVD, but it is this quintet singing "Danny Boy," and then debating the song. Jim Belushi plays Joe Dayton and joins with Hunt in double-teaming everybody else in stealing scenes. Duchovny and Driver are the only ones required to carry heavy emotional baggage and they acquit themselves well in that regard, but the one who really shines is O'Connor as the warm but understated grandfather. There was no doubt when the moment came for him to say the right thing to the right person at the right time, that he was going to deliver. The same can be said for Bonnie Hunt's film.

Let me say first before I begin, Hollywood should give David Duchovny a chance at a movie career. He deserves it, and so what if "Return to Me" didn't score but praise from critics all over the world. Many comparing his performance to Cary Grant. Yes THE Cary Grant! I hope Hollywood opens it's eyes and see what else this man can do. I have faith... maybe too much but still... I have faith.

Well as for "Return to Me," alot of people missed out on this film and I'm glad I was the few who DIDN'T miss it. Everyone who worked on this was X-cellent to the extreame. No violence, no special effects, just wonderful acting, an unbelieveably wonderful soundtrack (Sintra...yummy), a lack of sex (thank you very much) and a delightful cast calls out for a great night at the movies.

Is this movie predictable? Yes. Did I care? No, well didn't care at all if the movie was predicatable. I was too carried away by the acting, characters, etc. Everyone in this film is purely delightful, Driver and Duchovny have the chemisty that I only dream film actors would have. They don't sizzle but there chemisty works hand in hand, which is the opposite of Duchovny and Anderson which mixes and matches.

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan don't have chemisty as good and Duchovny and Drive do.

I wished this film did better, but eventhough it didn't I still love it. It's a great film to sit around after a long week at school or the office, at times I nearly fainted from laughing in my seat, bawling my eyes out, or chocking on my popcorn (3 times) from laughing so hard. The movie nearly killed me people.

"Return to Me" is neither cheesy or sappy (somewhat) but it works, oh and to make mention I love the old Irish and Italian cronies at O'Rellys-they ROCKED and made the film 10 times more enjoyable.

Anyone who is anyone should take a look at this film, Hollywood give Our Beloved David a chance at film (waiting to hear more on "Evolution" David's next project), and Bonnie Hunt where ever your are, and the cast and crew thank you for such a wonderful night at the movies.

Melissa: The Other X-Phile

Have you ever wondered what happened to heart transplant patients after the surgery? Does it change their lives? What are their feelings knowing that their new life comes at the expense of someone else's?

Bob (Duchovny) and Elizabeth (Richardson) had a great life. She loved caring for the apes at the zoo and he was building an enclosure to make the animals lives even better. They'd like to take a trip to Italy--maybe after the new building is done.

Then, a tragic accident claimed her life. Bob signs away his wife's heart and tries to go on with his life.

Grace (Driver) who's had a heart condition most of her life, is about to die. She gets word she's getting a heart. The surgery's successful, but she mourns that someone had to die to get her life. It takes her a year to send a thank-you note to the donor family.

Life does get better for Grace. She's out of the hospital, she's painting and dreaming of going to Italy, but has never been on a plane...

While Bob is out on a disastrous blind date, he meets Grace. She's waitressing his table. He ditches his date and accidentally leaves his phone at the restaurant O'Reilly's Italian, run by Grace's grandfather (O'Connor) and his lovable poker playing cronies.

The rest is predictable and history, but is still worth seeing. "Return to Me" is a heartfelt comedy and a pleasant evening.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2008