Good romantic comedies don't come along much anymore. They've either disappeared completely as women flock to more violent men-bashing fare, or been swallowed up by the Ryan/Bullock corporation. My mind could be playing tricks on me but the last one I remember that was a straight-off-the-bat Rom-Com was While You Were Sleeping back in 1995. And that starred Sandra Bullock. So, as a great romantic myself I hastily rented Return to Me off the back of two plus points; it starred David Duchovny and Minnie Driver, both excellent actors, and I could get my Mum to pay because of Mr Duchovny's presence. Yes I am cheap.
As a big fan of Audrey Hepburn movies, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's and of course Roman Holiday, I know a good romantic movie when I see one. I also know what they should have and what is a big no-no. Return to Me is a classic example of what happens when you follow these handy pointers, as was While You Were Sleeping, Groundhog Day and to a lesser extent the magnificent Meet Joe Black. The leads must be great actors, capable of turning humour into emotional disaster and vice versa. They must be sweetiepies. The film must have an eclectic collection of supporting actors which our leads interact with and generally look prettier, lonelier and sweeter than. Return to Me does all this effortlessly.
Duchovny up to this point was untested in this arena. 7 years on The X-Files had given him considerable scope and broadened his range and fanbase considerably. It became obvious that he could handle high emotion and hilariously deadpan humour with ease, but his romantic credentials were lacking. His performance in this then is all the more astonishing. Breezing through the comedy in the first half hour he had me in stitches repeatedly as the architect husband of zoologist Joely Richardson. He continues this effort throughout the film but the tempered nature is all too evident to see, events having conspired against him somewhat...
Duchovny plays Bob Rueland, happily married to his wife Elizabeth and living a great and worthwhile life. While coming back from the gala fundraiser Elizabeth had planned in order to raise funds for an ape named Sidney, his life is cracked apart as a car accident kills her and deposits him in a place no man deserves. All this while Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) has been waiting, close to death, for a heart transplant. She gets Elizabeth's heart and the films main premise kicks in.
The story touches on many points along the way, though obviously doesn't overdo it as it's only a light romantic comedy. Most clear is the idea of Duchovny and Driver's attraction being based on Elizabeth's soul, still beating inside Driver. Are they two people who have fallen in love or two people brought together by the forces of fate, determined that the two lovers remain together. How much of Grace IS Grace anymore? Is it she Bob has fallen in love with? Her personality, her beauty or is it something more. While the film doesn't make a big deal of the heart thing, the palpitations Grace incurs as she passes Bob a few times at the beginning of the their new lives are clearly designed to give us the idea of another power at work.
First time director Bonnie Hunt does a great job of keeping the film going, deftly getting the best from her supporting cast, which incude herself, Robert Loggia and James Belushi, and keeping a tight-rein on the pacing of the film in a genre known to overblow itself on it's more powerful scenes. No sex takes place, in fact the clothing styles incorporated suggest a return to the more conservative values of the 50's. Duchovny wears unflattering (though the ladies may disagree) shirts and does his hair in a bizarre way, Driver wears as much as she can in order to cover up the scar she believes will blight her chances of ever finding love.
No prizes for guessing the ending or indeed the major scripting. Grace hides her transplant from Bob and neither of them know the underlying bond they share until late on in the film, but this was never the point in the genre of Rom-Com. One of the problems of said film style these days could indeed be the need to twist everything and anything. It is therefore wonderful to finally see a comprehensive return to the values and joys of romance after possibly 30 years of neglect. |
