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Movies / On DVD / Then She Found Me
Then She Found Me

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Then She Found Me (2008)

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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.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Moderate sexual references and coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 24, 2008 Wide

US 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

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Happily, Helen Hunt takes the “ick” and “ick” out of chick flick.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment Comment
05/15/08
Michael Adams
Michael Adams
Empire Magazine Australasia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

To its credit, this is a romantic comedy with a more serious side than most. But in her seriousness, Hunt loses sight of the need for laughter.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
05/28/08
David Stratton
David Stratton
The Australian
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There’s nothing exceptional about it, but there’s a warmth and intelligence here which sets it aside from most other romantic comedies around.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
05/15/08
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Words get in the way of true emotions in this comedy drama that marks Helen Hunt's directing debut.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
05/12/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The overt stylistic flourishes are so few that they have a special impact, particularly the moment when the camera slowly tracks towards April after she receives a piece of devastating news.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
06/07/08
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
06/08/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Suffers from, if anything, a lack of pure confidence in the story, the actors or the audience.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/16/08
John Anderson
John Anderson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
09/19/08
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

...Hunt, in her directorial debut, can't seem to decide whether she'd rather make a spicy ethnic dish or bland comfort food.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
04/27/08
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

Hunt's debut as a film director makes me glad she found us.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
05/09/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

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.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
05/23/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Even Midler can't redeem it from terminal Lifetime-movie-dom.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
05/22/08
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

This is the sort of movie that gives 'chick flicks' a bad name.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/23/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

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.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
04/24/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

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.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/15/08
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film

Then She Found Me is uneven, but entirely watchable, and Hunt gets terrific performances from both Bette Midler and Colin Firth.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
04/25/08
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

A grim, grey little affair of people who aren't interesting failing to achieve catharsis in the banal, depressing problems of their lives.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
05/09/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

It's Mad About You with home pregnancy test swabs.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/24/08
Paul Brenner
Paul Brenner
Filmcritic.com

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.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/15/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

A nifty story about some sympathetic and idiosyncratic characters struggling with love and reaching out for their small share of happiness.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
04/24/08
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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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. Opens in new window
More...

April 21, 2008: Then She Found Me a Labor of Love for Helen Hunt Opens in new window
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 Opens in new window
More...

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