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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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41 - 60 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Looking an anorexic 15 years older than her character, she grabs onto her role with a grim, two-fisted attack. While the supporting cast in this dramedy swims toward comedy, Hunt drowns in tragedy.

Full Review Source: LivePDX | comment Comment
05/22/08
Kimberly Gadette
Kimberly Gadette
LivePDX

As Then She Found Me moves along it takes on some of the same sweet, loopy tone of Waitress and the story has a similar arc. It doesn't have the lush, dreamy look of Waitress (or its sounds) but it felt just as satisfying.

Full Review Source: Windy City Times | comment Comment
05/22/08
Richard Knight
Richard Knight
Windy City Times

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

Mature dramedy interesting, but meanders too much.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
05/20/08
S. Jhoanna Robledo
S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media

It's a romantic "dramedy" that treads some familiar ground, but does so smartly and thoughtfully.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
05/19/08
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

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

An uneasy mix of Baby Mama, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and a few of Woody Allen's domestic comedies, and is even messier than that makes it sound.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/16/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Helen Hunt, as she allows herself to age authentically, may have a good second career as a director, based on the surefooted handling of this comedy-drama.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
05/16/08
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

Addresses thinky topics like religious faith, motherhood, and adoption, always intelligently and maturely.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
05/15/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.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

Finding a way to compartmentalize your bitterness while keeping your heart open to enlightening relationships is a more difficult task than facing Ivan Drago. In Russia. On Christmas Day. For no money.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
05/15/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

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

Hunt draws some good performances from the cast and wisely chose a low-key personal story for her directorial debut.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
05/09/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The plot, as hinted, goes strictly by the How April Got Her Groove Back book, but it must be said that the performances push it a notch above pedestrian.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
05/09/08
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

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.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
05/09/08
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

A few plot turns too many undermine Helen Hunt's Then She Found Me, and that's too bad, because Hunt shows some nice touches here both in front of and behind the camera.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment 1 Comment
05/09/08
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

Midler plays an extrovert with heart and brains, but the twists and turnarounds in this mother-and-child reunion arrive right on schedule; in the end, she's less a mother than a show-biz fairy godmother.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
05/09/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Helen Hunt probably could have made this into a delightful little comedy or a thoughtful drama. But the clumsy mixing of those elements makes for an awkward mess.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
05/09/08
Harry Chotiner
Harry Chotiner
culturevulture.net

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

Honesty without cynicism. Now that's something I could watch a lot more of.

Full Review Source: Colorado Springs Gazette | comment Comment
05/09/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; 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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