Then She Found Me (2007)

Am I Missing Something?

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

"Then She Found Me" opens as something we've all seen before. Some sort of crazy Jew ceremonies (don't worry I'm not antisemitic) we've seen religious antics in all types of romcoms whether it be in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", the wonderful "Sixty Six" or even in the opening of "Schindler's List" (not a romcom but nevertheless brilliant) and so we know what we've let ourselves in for. An average trip down predictable lovers lane. The plot is outlined in our heads already. Woman single, woman finds someone she likes, woman falls out with her fancy man due to complications, woman eventually marries love interest with some good humour and various subplots inbetween. Yep, that's basically what we've got here only we've got a long lost mum (or 'mom') thrown into the entertaining mix as well as our hero's quest for pregnancy.So we know it's predictable like most romcoms but "The She Found Me" is saved by the hilarious Bette Mudler who I would happily watch any film for. Not only is Miss Midler a talented actress and singer, but she has perfect comic timing and so gets all the best lines and rightly so! Bette Midler is the saviour of this piece and I don't think she's in it enough! Whenever our dear Bette is off screen we're just praying for her to make a return and on this occasion she plays an interfering yet endearing mother who magically reappears in a rather rough looking Helen Hunt's life.Helen has had a big trial during this film, not only being the main star of the film (even though Bette steals that from her) but she also wrote the screenplay (with two others so they probably did all the work) and also directed it! Helen the actress is OK, she has won an Oscar but didn't deserve it, Helena Bonham Carter was the worthy winner in that line-up but as Helen's the only yankee doodle dandy there, she has to win it doesn't she! Anyway, yeah she's OK, nothing special, she's actually quite an annoying character which isn't always a good thing. Helen the writer is good on the one-liners (if she wrote them) but not so good on the story development. Finally, Helen the director is very average, though there isn't much flare to direct with within a romantic comedy.Oh, and we also have our dear King of England, Bertie Firth (or is it Colin?) King George anyway, he's playing an English idiot who Helen quite fancies. Colin's character isn't particularly likable either so him and Helen are suited for each other.Overall, this is the type of film where you can put your knickers on the radiator, heat them up, put them on, get all comfy on your one-seater sofa with the massaging back (I have no idea what I'm typing here!) And get ready for some predictable heart-felt, cosy romcom with a few belly laughs amongst the mostly unlikable characters. Best enjoyed with a mug of chips.

Helen Hunt I always considered a very mediocre actress and general a miss cast in every production. I guess that makes me bias. When a bad actor is also a poor director and then casts her self as the lead character..now that is just aiming for disaster. And in all fairness it doesn't have to be, Ben Affleck: horrible actor-great director.The story, resembling a season of Days of our Lives in a nutshell doesn't become deeper than a wading pool and Hunt making painful faces makes just for a lot of smurking. On top of that character April Epner is so annoying that you don't understand why people are making any effort for her. Colin Firth looks way too young and too sparkly for his part. And although she keeps saying that she is 39, Hunt obviously is far too old for her part and looks it. Firth and Midler are playing her off the screen and wasting their talents here. Dreadful waste of time.

I rented this movie because of her co-stars as I am admittedly not particularly a Helen Hunt fan. I didn't even know the plot. Some reviewers gave this a pretty scathing review and I may be a bit biased but I thought the film was smart, funny, sad, frustrating...all the things we experience in life. The main threads in the movie also are very common in life: betrayal, anger, love, regret, redemption...woven through a cast of characters performed very, very well. I found myself drawn in to the pathos of the characters as they dealt with devastating as well as wonderful circumstances. I admit that a main topic in the film-having/adopting children is very close to my heart but I think it is a very worthwhile film and one of the few films I've seen that deals realistically with the heartbreak of wanting a baby and finding it achingly difficult. The film also handles well the complications of human relationships. Worth the watch for me as a fan of the cast. Even Hunt whom I had not seen much of but was impressed by in this role.

When I borrowed this film from my local library I was hoping it would live up to the abilities of its promising cast (Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth & Matthew Broderick), and yet it took me a while to actually sit down and view it. Fortunately it turned out to be funny and endearing.I read in the beginning credits that it was based on a novel and it looks like Helen Hunt (as director), along with the screenwriters, were able to effectively glean the comedic elements from the story. The film's achievement is portraying the swirling emotions of its central characters without becoming too cloying or desperate.In terms of the actors, Bette Midler is especially memorable as a woman who fumbles into territory that for her, up to this point in her life, is seemingly uncharted. Colin Firth is messy and lovable, Matthew Broderick, pathetic and a bit lost. And Helen Hunt proves herself as a capable director while depicting a woman searching for her own sense of fulfillment. There were moments while watching this that I laughed out loud and other moments when I cried -- this amounts to some of my criteria that makes a movie ultimately worth seeing.