Review: Then She Found Me

It’s been a very long time since DH and I went to the movies. Ever since we became parents our trips to the theater have been very infrequent, so we do the next best thing—watch DVDs. Thanks to the Family Review Network, I was able watch the DVD Then She Found Me ($19.99 at Amazon.com), starring Helen Hunt, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, and Colin Firth.

Based on the best selling novel by Elinor Lipman, Then She Found Me, which is Helen Hunt’s directorial debut and winner of the Audience Award Palm Springs International Film Festival, “…follows schoolteacher April Epner (Hunt) on her very unlikely path toward personal fulfillment. Following her separation from her husband (Matthew Broderick) and the death of her adoptive mother, April is contacted by her apparent birth mother (Bette Midler), a colorful local talk show host who’s not exactly the ideal mom. As she tries to become the mother to April that she never was able to be, April finds solace in the arms of the father of one of her students (Colin Firth). With every aspect of her world turned upside down, April must learn how to cope with an age-old truth—life can change in a heartbeat.”

And change it does for April, as each day she encounters change in her life, both good and bad, and she goes through a range of emotions daily—from happiness and bliss to heartbreak and betrayal. Helen Hunt’s portrayal of a woman trying to find purpose in her life while her world is being turned upside down was fantastic. The other main actors were also great in this film. Frank (Firth), bitter because of his past, was quite smitten with April, but hesitant to risk getting his heart broken again. Ben (Broderick) was convincing as an insecure, indecisive man who helped contribute to the chaos of April’s life. And the performance by Bette Midler as April’s mother, Bernice, is exactly what you’d expect—outrageous and fun, yet deep down you know she only wants to do what’s best for April.

Both DH and I enjoyed this touching and amusing movie. It was not entirely predictable, and I was captivated until the end. I also love how the meaning of the movie’s title can be interpreted in more ways than one. It’s not just about a mother finding the daughter she gave away for adoption, but there are many other examples of how “she” found “me.”

Watch Then She Found Me and you’ll find out exactly what I mean.

Thank you to THINKFilm for providing the product(s) for review and/or giveaway.