Return to Me (2000) David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Grier, James Belushi. Screenplay by Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake. Directed by Bonnie Hunt. 116 minutes. PG, 3 stars
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to ejohnsonott@prodigy.net or e-mail ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
''Return to Me'' is the kind of film I normally shred with the enthusiasm of a puppy that just snagged your favorite slipper. The romantic comedy is unabashedly sentimental, with plot contrivances galore, stereotypical supporting players, overdone accents, nuns on bicycles and an adorable gorilla. As if all that wasn't enough, it even features Jim Belushi, whose very presence is enough to cause most productions to implode. But from beginning to end, I found the film utterly charming. Hell, I even liked Belushi.
Oh, what an awkward position for a jaded critic to be in.
First time director Bonnie Hunt (who also co-wrote the script and plays a key role) casts David Duchovny and Minnie Driver in her fairy tale. Duchovny plays Bob, a Chicago architect who loses his zoologist wife Elizabeth (Joely Richardson) in a car wreck. Minnie Driver is Grace, a barmaid on the waiting list for a healthy heart who receives a second lease on life thanks to Elizabeth.
Months later, Bob wanders into the funky little restaurant run by Grace's Irish grandfather (Carroll O'Connor) and Italian great-uncle (Robert Loggia). The old boys play matchmaker, leading to the inevitable pairing of Bob and Grace. Of course, the road to romance is rocky. Bob still grieves the loss of Elizabeth and Grace is so painfully self-conscious of her surgical scar that she's afraid to get intimate with anyone. Cautiously, they begin the courtship ritual.
This may read like typical cutesy-poo fare, but that's only because it is. And there's more. When O'Connor (who uses an Irish accent straight out of a ''Lucky Charms'' commercial), Loggia and company aren't hovering over the couple like mother hens, they spend their time exchanging good-natured insults and debating the merits of vintage singers. Going into sugar shock, yet? Well, try this on for size. The ape Elizabeth worked with had a special gesture he used only with her. When Grace visits the zoo, he cozies up to her right away. How cosmic.
The film has a fair share of chunky shtick as well. Bob's best pal (David Alan Grier) fixes him up for an evening out, leading to some extreme overacting from Bob's boorish date. There's also a running gag over Jim Belushi's efforts to stop swearing in front of his kids. And we have the aforementioned encounter with a perky bicycle-riding nun.
I could go on, but you get the idea. There's enough sweetness here for a dozen Meg Ryan movies, but the damned thing still got to me.
Why?
Part of the reason is Minnie Driver and David Duchovny. Driver projects a disarming vulnerability and, at long last, Duchovny drops his ''X-Files'' ironic cool and plays a guy who smiles and laughs and cries like an actual human being. Together, they made me care about the well-being of their characters.
Another reason is Bonnie Hunt and Jim Belushi. As Grace's closest friends, they make a dandy couple. Hunt's tongue is as sharp as ever, but nicely tempered by her nurturing qualities. As for Belushi, after screwing up a long series of leading man roles, he is very likable in a supporting turn, playing an affable lug quite comfortable in his skin. A scene where he does an impromptu belly dance for Grace and his wife is funny and appealing. Few other actors could successfully pull that off.
But the biggest reason is Bonnie Hunt's direction. She establishes and maintains a fairy tale sensibility that makes the convoluted plotting easy to tolerate. Hunt obviously conveyed her storybook approach to the supporting cast, convincing them to go for magic over credibility.
The magic worked for me. I enjoyed spending a couple of hours in a world where loving relatives dote over your every move, where caring friends are there when you need them, and where romance triumphs over all.
There you have it. ''Return to Me'' is a cavalcade of corn, but I had a ball. So sue me. Incidentally, I plan to keep this review handy from now on. Whenever anyone fires off an irate letter accusing me of being a cold-hearted bastard because I ragged on the latest mawkish offering from Robin Williams, I'll send them a copy of this and let them choke on it.
=A9 2000 Ed Johnson-Ott
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