What’s up with Helen Hunt? Pale and bony, she looks like she hasn’t eaten in weeks. Perhaps the stress of juggling roles for her directorial and co-writing debut took its toll. Still, the end result is a mostly well-observed rom-com that is better than its so-so looking trailer would suggest.
Okay, so there’s nothing in here that you haven’t seen before – from bombshell parental revelations (see Rumour Has It) to telephone romance (see Elizabethtown). But through Hunt’s keen eye for emotional detail and some impressively naturalistic turns from herself and her co-stars, the film stays just the right side of corny.
Surprising highlight is Brit smoothie Colin Firth who, while hardly stepping out of his comfort zone – fast quips, posho accent, big square face – does provide almost all of the film’s funniest moments (Midler and Broderick are mostly just irritating). There is, however, an unresolved tension between the charming, witty side of Firth’s character, and the explosive temper he displays when he looks like he’s about to start beating Hunt to death in the street for having got fruity with her not-so-long estranged husband. It’s a scene that jars a little in context.
Credit to the actor-director though, she clearly recognises that people come in three dimensions, and for the most part has managed to translate that to the screen. While Then She Found Me is in no way the greatest comedy drama you’ll ever see, its mature, rough-edged approach gives it an appeal beyond production line fluff. That’s got to be worth a celebratory pie, surely Helen?
