A smart little bittersweet comedy.
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.
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
Reviews for Then She Found Me
Without strong guidance, the self-conscious lines make the characters sound like, well, characters rather than actual human beings.
Hunt writes, directs and stars in a rough-edged indie alternative to Baby Mama.
Then She Found Me is uneven, but entirely watchable, and Hunt gets terrific performances from both Bette Midler and Colin Firth.
Too familiar by half to be indie/arty/edgy and too anemic by another half to surface as mainstream/commercial.
Then She Found Me, a serious comedy, is more impressive for what it refuses to do than for its modest accomplishment.
...a smart and capable debut for Hunt as a director who has found herself a plum role. It's a perfect Mother's Day pick.
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.
The anxieties and angst of middle-class, middle-aged women remain rich, underexplored cinematic territory, but Hunt's instantly forgettable film does little to make this deep vein of cultural experience seem vital or exciting.
Stylish yet deeply sensitive, lifting your spirit. No one will come away without a smile.
Hunt's performance is terrific and far more nuanced than her Oscar-winning turn in As Good as It Gets. As an actress, she helps make her director look very good indeed.
Gaunt, grim and wound as tight as a ukulele's string, April Epner (Helen Hunt), the elementary schoolteacher undergoing the mother of all midlife crises in Then She Found Me, is a stern challenge to an audience's collective sympathy.
Sharing ace chemistry with Hunt, Midler's scenes are the jewels of the film; a reminder of how impressive her talent is and how much her recent career direction has failed to capitalize on her gifts.
A nifty story about some sympathetic and idiosyncratic characters struggling with love and reaching out for their small share of happiness.
Uncomfortable moments and near–nervous breakdowns transition into Oxygen-channel cuteness, which we’re supposed to read as some sort of approximation of…messy real life? Not quite.
April and Frank are mired in angst, for no discernable reason, other than having the misfortune of being stuck in a downer of a movie.
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 ![]()
More...
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