Then She Found Me is a commendable but not very exciting feature-directing debut by actress Helen Hunt. Although she wields most of the creative power on the film she doesn't turn this into a vanity project.
Then She Found Me (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:112
Fresh:57
Rotten:55
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: A threadbare story anchored by strong performances, Then She Found Me is a mostly successful directorial debut by Helen Hunt.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, and some sexual content.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $3,728,972
Synopsis: The move from actor to director can be a difficult one, but actress Helen Hunt makes the transition seem effortless with THEN SHE FOUND ME. Hunt, who also produced and cowrote the film, plays April... The move from actor to director can be a difficult one, but actress Helen Hunt makes the transition seem effortless with THEN SHE FOUND ME. Hunt, who also produced and cowrote the film, plays April Epner, a down-on-her-luck schoolteacher who longs to have a child. April's chances of bringing a baby into the world are diminished when her husband, Ben (Matthew Broderick), leaves her, and more bad news follows when her adoptive mother dies. The beleaguered April subsequently forms an unexpected bond with her real mother, the overbearing TV host Bernice (Bette Midler), and takes tentative steps towards motherhood with a new man in her life, the bumbling Frank (Colin Firth). Hunt's film, which is based on the novel of the same name by Elinor Lipman, is likely to win over fans of classic rom-coms such as WHEN HARRY MET SALLY and YOU'VE GOT MAIL. At its heart the film poses some thoughtful observations on what a late-30s woman goes through when she is facing a possibly childless future. But Hunt also stirs some generous scoops of humor into the plot, providing light relief from her central character's plight, and also demonstrating her range as a writer/director. The cast members are uniformly excellent throughout, with Firth and Hunt giving strong performances that are helped along by a supporting cast that provides most of the comic relief. Hunt even finds time to provide a small role for the writer Salman Rushdie, who plays a doctor. [More]
Starring: Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick
Starring: Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick, Ben Shankman
Director: Helen Hunt
Director: Helen Hunt
Screenwriter: Helen Hunt, Vic Levin, Alice Arlen
Producer: Pamela Koffler, Katie Roumel, Christine Vachon, Helen Hunt, Connie Tavel
Composer: David Mansfield
Studio: ThinkFilm
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Reviews for Then She Found Me
Suffers from, if anything, a lack of pure confidence in the story, the actors or the audience.
Hunt’s lovely voice, pitched in that diurnal-dizzy limbo between mezzo and soprano, is perfect for mid-life crisis. So is her gawky, strung-out, tragicomical body language.
...Hunt, in her directorial debut, can't seem to decide whether she'd rather make a spicy ethnic dish or bland comfort food.
As unhealthy-looking as a Dust Bowl migrant in a Dorothea Lange portrait, Hunt appears to have wandered onto the set in hopes of finding something to chew.
Then She Found Me will do just fine as quirky filler on women's cable networks, but considering the talent involved there was reason to expect more.
What at first seems a morose if witty romantic comedy for adults ends up being an altogether more serious piece about a woman acquiring children but leaving behind childish things.
Then She Found Me is uneven, but entirely watchable, and Hunt gets terrific performances from both Bette Midler and Colin Firth.
A grim, grey little affair of people who aren't interesting failing to achieve catharsis in the banal, depressing problems of their lives.
Everything about Hunt's directorial debut %u2013 she also co-wrote the script and served as one of the 13 producers %u2013 is obnoxious, to say nothing of arch and artificial.
A nifty story about some sympathetic and idiosyncratic characters struggling with love and reaching out for their small share of happiness.
Hunt has what it takes to direct; you can see it here, in small doses. In an arena filled largely with men, it will be interesting to see what she does next.
Hunt, who also co-wrote the screenplay from Elinor Lipman’s novel, scrupulously avoids anything that smacks of TV sitcom humor. This is admirable, but the result is one of the glummest romantic comedies in recent memory.
A highly satisfying old-fashioned comedy-drama...[with] a strong undercurrent of religion and philosophy that helps Hunt make her film profound in a way that sneaks up on you. [Blu-ray]
It's like an animatronic reproduction of a Jewish mom relationship erected at the world's most racist amusement park.
Latest News for Then She Found Me
September 19, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Tropic Thunder Soldiers On; Then She Found Me Is Found Out
This week's UK releases, expect big laughs as Ben Stiller's star-studded Hollywood satire comedy blasts onto our screens in Tropic Thunder. The sound of a big old biological... More...
May 25, 2008:
Helen Hunt makes decent directorial debut with bittersweet romantic comedy. ![]()
More...
April 21, 2008:
Then She Found Me a Labor of Love for Helen Hunt ![]()
After some time away from the spotlight, Helen Hunt has re-emerged as the producer, director, co-writer, and star of an adaptation of Elinor Lipman's novel Then She Found Me. More...
April 13, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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