Then She Found Me
Hey, all you members of the adoption triad out there--or just you folks who like a romantic comedy with a grain of reality and brains in it--Then She Found Me is really good. Helen Hunt, of Mad About You fame, directed, wrote the screenplay, and stars. Other members of the cast are Colin Firth, Matthew Broderick (who's terrific as the clueless, self-absorbed child-husband), and Bette Midler. Ben Shenkman (Angels in America) and Lynn Cohen (Miranda's housekeeper on Sex and the City) also have good roles.
The film, which has apparently been a labor of love for Helen Hunt, who's been working on it since 1997, is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Elinor Lipman, who shares her thoughts about its conversion into film on her website. (Take note of the timeline, all you writers whose books have been optioned or who are hoping for that.)
I really like the way the film explores the sense of total upheaval that an adoption reunion can bring to your life. As excited and hopeful as you may feel, a reunion is still like an earthquake. It shakes everything. The film captures those chaotic highs and lows.
And it's not like the rest of your life just holds still so you can think about it and deal. The movie does a good job with that aspect, which it represents in a nicely, realistically complex fashion. I'm excited about the way Then She Found Me might bring a better understanding of adoption issues to a mainstream, non-adoption-related audience.
I really liked the unabashed inclusion of the protagonist's Jewish faith, too. Seeing her spirituality presented seriously and with grace made me think about how often Jewishness is depicted in pop culture as inevitably allied with humor, from Woody Allen to Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm to Jon Stewart's self-deprecating remarks on The Daily Show. As hilarious as those folks can be, I realized how rare it is to see anything different. Good for Helen Hunt.
Though most elements of the film are quite strong, some of the dialogue delivery feels, to me, a bit too much like dialogue, not enough like real talk, but that's a minor quibble, and it only happens in a few scenes. Overall, the movie's terrific. Here in Lincoln, it's showing at The Ross, but only until this Thursday.
If you go, prepare to think and be moved.
The film, which has apparently been a labor of love for Helen Hunt, who's been working on it since 1997, is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Elinor Lipman, who shares her thoughts about its conversion into film on her website. (Take note of the timeline, all you writers whose books have been optioned or who are hoping for that.)
I really like the way the film explores the sense of total upheaval that an adoption reunion can bring to your life. As excited and hopeful as you may feel, a reunion is still like an earthquake. It shakes everything. The film captures those chaotic highs and lows.
And it's not like the rest of your life just holds still so you can think about it and deal. The movie does a good job with that aspect, which it represents in a nicely, realistically complex fashion. I'm excited about the way Then She Found Me might bring a better understanding of adoption issues to a mainstream, non-adoption-related audience.
I really liked the unabashed inclusion of the protagonist's Jewish faith, too. Seeing her spirituality presented seriously and with grace made me think about how often Jewishness is depicted in pop culture as inevitably allied with humor, from Woody Allen to Seinfeld to Curb Your Enthusiasm to Jon Stewart's self-deprecating remarks on The Daily Show. As hilarious as those folks can be, I realized how rare it is to see anything different. Good for Helen Hunt.
Though most elements of the film are quite strong, some of the dialogue delivery feels, to me, a bit too much like dialogue, not enough like real talk, but that's a minor quibble, and it only happens in a few scenes. Overall, the movie's terrific. Here in Lincoln, it's showing at The Ross, but only until this Thursday.
If you go, prepare to think and be moved.
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