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'Return to Me' has heart, but an unoriginal pulse by Jon Chattman 4-07-00 "Return to Me," comic and character actor Bonnie Hunt's directorial debut, is an enchanting but recycled romantic comedy set in Chicago that features David Duchovny playing it straight, and Minnie Driver as the woman who goes straight to his heart. David Duchovny stars as Bob Rueland, an architectural engineer whose wife, a zoologist Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), dies in a car accident. That same evening, Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver), a young woman with an ailing heart receives a long awaited transplant and new lease on life.During the year, the two adjust to the new card that life has dealt them. Rueland's house in an empty one, his only solace is spending time with his dog, who is also visible shaken by the death–starring at the door waiting for Elizabeth to come home. Outside of the house, Rueland has kept occupied by immersing himself in his work to complete a project that was dear to his wife–the building of an expansive gorilla habitat at Lincoln Park Zoo, where she had worked and bonded with the gorilla. At the same time, his friend Dr. Charlie Johnson, a veterinarian at the zoo, tries to get Rueland's focus off of work and mourning and onto a social life. What Johnson finds is his friend's wounds have not yet healed.While Rueland is struggling with the loss of his wife, Briggs is adjusting to her new heart–not to mention–a world she never knew from being bedridden. Living above the Irish-Italian–O Reilly's Italian Restaurant, which serves everything from cabbage to canollis, and working as a waitress and aspiring to be an artist in Italy. She is cared for and entertained by the Irish grandfather that raised her, Marty O'Reilly, played charmingly by Carroll O'Connor, and her Italian uncle Angelo Parpadillo, played with zest by Robert Loggia. She is equally charmed by her relative's senior citizens buddies, Emmet (Eddie Jones) Wally (William Bronder) and Sophia (Marianne Muellerleile), who play cards and compare who has the best entertainers–Italians or the Irish–and whether Bing is better than Dean. Briggs is also supported by best friend Megan (Bonnie Hunt), a mother of five, and her husband Joe (James Belushi). A twist of fate–or in this case a blind date gone wrong–links Briggs and Rueland together. As a favor to his friend, Rueland agrees to meet Johnson and two dates at O'Reilly's. What he finds is that Briggs, the waitress who is serving them, is more delightful than his annoying date. A random encounter at the restaurant leads to a relationship between the couple, who fall for one another. Rueland and Briggs become joined at the heart, as his wounds heal, and her self-consciousness of her transplant scar is lifted. David Duchovny is charming as Rueman, and is so not Fox Mulder in this role. He loses the thinking man's action hero image and becomes an old fashioned nice guy. He even, at one point, asks Driver's character permission to hold hands. His strengths in this role is the way his character progresses from a man who has let his house become a pigsty and lives for his work–mourning for his wife, to a man who is reborn when he lays eyes on Briggs. He also meshes well with the senior citizen squad led by O'Connor. His only weakness is that in some scenes he seems a bit stiff. As she has shown in films like "Circle of Friends," Minnie Driver brightens up the screen as Briggs, a woman who has lived a sheltered life fighting off a bad heart, a condition that took the life of her mother at an early age. She convincingly shows this on her first date with Rueman, and the following dates–fearing that her scar from her transplant will draw him away.Even more so than Duchovny, her performance is the heart of the film.In supporting roles, kudos goes to Carroll O'Connor for returning to the big screen after years of sitting in Archie Bunker's chair on the tube. He returns with a brogue as the loving uncle who only wants the best for his Grace. Other notable performances are given by Loggia, who breaks the mold of his bad guy image as of late, Hunt, as Brigg's loyal friend Dayton who supplies the film with witty anecdotes and one-liners, and Belushi, who is exceptionally funny as Dayton's beer-chugging teddy bear husband. Comedian David Alan Grier should also receive recognition for playing it straight in what is usually the "funny-sidekick" role in a romantic comedy as Rueman's friend, Johnson. Despite winning performances,
the film's script suffers from the "been-there, done-that" syndrome, and
Hunt's work behind the camera is satisfactory if unoriginal–although
she does draw fine performances from her cast and incorporates classic
tunes by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin nicely. The script by Hunt and
Don Lake, not so much the story by the duo with Andrew Stern and Samantha
Goodman, has a lot of heart, but little substance. The writers have been
given a superb cast, and a decent story, but cannot cash in. It's basically
a cross between "Moonstruck" and "Untamed Heart." Despite its flaws, "Return
to Me" is an enjoyably old-fashioned film with a fine cast, led by Duchovny
and Driver, who keep the film pumping.
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