SnoopyStyle April Epner (Helen Hunt) is happily newly-married to Ben (Matthew Broderick). The 39-year-old teacher was adopted by Jewish mother Trudy and is desperate to have a child of her own. She hates that everybody is pushing for her to adopt. Ben leaves her and Trudy dies. Frank (Colin Firth) is the father of one of her students who is taken with her. His wife had left him to travel the globe with her boyfriend. April is contacted by her daytime talkshow host biological mother Bernice Graves (Bette Midler) who claims her father to be movie star Steve McQueen. Then April discovers that she's pregnant with Ben's baby.This is Helen Hunt's theatrical directing debut. There are some issues with flow and tone. April is a middle age Jewish New Yorker but older Helen Hunt has tended towards white trailer trash. There are opportunities for comedy especially with Midler but Hunt doesn't always play along. Hunt is better dramatically at that point. Even in Mad About You, she was the straight man and the infuriated wife. There is also a weird cameo by Salman Rushdie as the doctor. It's a little head-scratching. The role could have given small jolts of comedy but instead, it's a lot of "I didn't know he acted." Certainly, there is a workmanship to Hunt's directing but there are also issues.

Petri Pelkonen April Epner, a nearly 40-year old Jewish woman, is going through a crisis in her life.Her husband Ben leaves her and her adoptive mother dies.Then a talk show host called Bernice Graves is introduced to her as her biological mother.And she meets a new man named Frank at the school she teaches his two children.Then She Found Me (2007) is the directorial debut by actress Helen Hunt.She gives a great performance in the lead as April Epner.Bette Midler is terrific as Bernice Graves.Colin Firth is marvelous as Frank.Matthew Broderick, who turned 50 a couple of months ago, does very nice work as Ben Green.Ben Shenkman is great as Dr. Freddy Epner.Salman Rushdie, who is better known as a writer, does very good work as Dr. Samani.Lynn Cohen plays April's adoptive mother Trudy, and she's very good.As themselves in this movie are seen Janeane Garofalo, Tim Robbins and Edie Falco.This is a nice, yet flawed movie.The drama of it works pretty good, it's quite moving.But it doesn't go out to make some movie history.It doesn't succeed in rising above mediocrity.But it's a pretty nice little movie that proves Helen Hunt can also direct.

[email protected] If "Then She Found Me" got any real notice when it came out, it certainly passed by me. I didn't know what to expect when I chose the streaming video version, mainly because I've always liked Helen Hunt, and she's backed by a pretty impressive cast. Although it's certainly no blockbuster, the film is well worth seeing. Since it is immediately disclosed, I don't feel I'm spoiling anything in saying that Hunt plays the part of an adopted woman whose marriage at age 39 fails almost immediately because her groom (Matthew Broderick) is completely immature. Hunt's character (April Hepner) is unexpectedly confronted by her birth mother (Bette Midler) and also finds herself in a potentially romantic relationship with Frank (Colin Firth), a single father with two children whose wife left the family to travel around the world with her lover. April desperately wants to have a child, and time is quickly running out. Complications ensue on several fronts -- with her birth mother, with the husband from whom she is separated, and with Frank and Frank's kids. Hunt directed this film and co-wrote the script. Although she's a little old to be 39 again, she's still slim, beautiful, a skilled comic actress and believable in a serious, emotionally wrenching role. I can't give the movie more than a 6 but I liked it. The ending, which I won't describe, is plausible but a little too abrupt. However, I'll concede that filling the gap could not have been done quickly. And that's a potent argument for ending it without an explanation as they chose to do.

random_avenger In Helen Hunt's feature film directorial debut, Hunt plays April Epner, a 39-year old school teacher who wishes to have a baby of her own but is aware of her biological clock running out of time. Life has many unexpected twists in store for her: her immature husband (Matthew Broderick) leaves her, her adopted mother (Lynn Cohen) dies and her fussy biological mother (Bette Midler) contacts her for the first time. While coping with all the changes, she also meets a handsome divorcé Frank (Colin Firth), with whom a new relationship might be possible, but there are still more surprises waiting for her.I was worried the movie could turn out to be just another clichéd rom-com, but luckily Hunt and the other writers didn't go for the easiest laughs when adapting Elinor Lipman's novel for the screen. The best humour is of the quiet, subtle type and found in awkward silences and conversations between two very different characters. Bette Midler's flamboyant antics work fine when contrasted to Hunt's more reserved, insecure protagonist, and while Colin Firth's British charm is closer to ordinary screen romance, he knows how to handle a role like this. Besides a comedy, the personal development of April from a mousy follower to an independent woman who finally dares to decide for herself is a decent dramatic story as well.I've always been fond of spaciously framed static shots in films, so I was happy to see Hunt using them satisfactorily in her mise-en-scène, even though the film is hardly showing off with the direction. The music fits in the dramedic atmosphere very neatly too. On a more general level, the main theme of the film is the meaning of family in one's life, be it parents (biological or adopted), spouses, significant others or children. The unpredictable nature of life in general is also examined; the ending is in tune with the idea of accepting changing plans. Perhaps a little more boldness in the story would have made the film even better, but ultimately I think Then She Found Me is a well made effort and a good start for Hunt's directorial career which will hopefully continue in the future.