The Rom Com Catalog

Tag: Bonnie Hunt

  • ‘Return to Me’ (2000) Review

    ‘Return to Me’ (2000) Review

    After the death of his wife, Elizabeth, Bob (David Duchovny) has a difficult time moving on. When he finally agrees to a blind date, he finds himself more smitten with the restaurant’s waitress, Grace (Minnie Driver), than his date. The two begin to see one another and soon realize that Grace, a transplant recipient, received Elizabeth’s heart after her death.

    It had been some time since I saw Return to Me, but I decided to give it another watch after my rewatch of The X-Files. Obviously, Duchovny will always be Fox Mulder to me, but occasionally, I do like to see him in a different kind of role. While a bit maudlin, I did enjoy his role as Bob. He had already perfected the art of dry wit as Mulder, but it turns out Duchovny is also quite an affable romantic lead.

    The always-reliable Minnie Driver is adorable and funny in this movie, but shines when her character is at her most vulnerable. Together, Driver and Duchovny share the right kind of easy chemistry needed to make such an unbelievable premise work.

    Writer and director Bonnie Hunt weaves a romantic comedy that, shockingly, feels grounded in reality. The talented supporting cast, consisting of David Alan Grier, Caroll O’Connor, Robert Loggia, Jim Belushi, and Hunt herself, surrounds Grace and Bob with plenty of old-world wisdom and support. It’s a testament to Hunt and Don Lake’s script, which is full of humor, sweetness, and plenty of all-too-human moments that make it feel relatable rather than outlandish.

    If you are looking for a sizzling rom-com, you won’t find it in Return to Me. Grace and Bob remain relatively chaste as a couple, as Grace is insecure about her surgery scar, and Bob is still navigating his own feelings after the death of his wife. But not every romantic comedy needs a hot, beneath-the-sheets romp. Grace and Bob fall in love despite the lack of physical intimacy, and I have to credit Hunt for making their love story just sweet enough without straying into overly sappy territory.

    Return to Me is not for the cynical or those who like an edge to their rom-coms. This movie is unapologetically romantic. It’s a solid directorial debut for Bonnie Hunt, with lovely chemistry between Driver and Duchovny, and the perfect romantic comedy to watch when you’re looking for something cozy and sweet.

    Watched: 11/08/2024
    Notable Song: Return to Me by Dean Martin

    Rating:
  • ‘Only You’ (1994) Review

    ‘Only You’ (1994) Review

    Only You Synopsis: As a teen, Faith was told that her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. Years later – Faith is about to marry another man – a Damon Bradley calls to wish them all the best. Faith blows off the wedding and follows Damon to Italy.

    After playing with an Ouija board with her brother, Faith is convinced her destiny is a man named Damon Bradley. This is reiterated later at a carnival where a fortune teller mentions the same name. Years later, Faith is engaged to be married but receives a call from a friend of her fiancé, who is about to board a plane for Italy, but tells her his name is Damon Bradley.

    Convinced that the phone call is her fate, Faith and her sister-in-law, Kate, board a plane to Venice to track down Damon. When she finds him (or so she thinks), she and “Damon” spend a whirlwind night falling in love. But, of course, it’s not that easy, and Faith ultimately has to decide if she believes in some pre-ordained fate or her heart.

    I loved the premise of Only You. I’m a sucker for most things that fall underneath the movie umbrella of “fate”. Even if you don’t believe it exists, I still think it’s fun to watch in terms of a movie or television show, especially if it brings something fresh to the table. Only You isn’t exactly an original take on destiny, but its simplicity benefits it, I think.

    Marisa Tomei is perfectly adorable as Faith, a woman who seems content to be marrying her boyfriend… until she gets a phone call from Damon Bradley, then she runs off to the airport in her wedding dress(!) to find him. Her poor fiancé is barely a blip on Faith’s radar anymore as she tries to track down the man she’s confident is the man she’s supposed to marry. In the hands of another actress, Faith could have very easily been an unlikeable lead, but Tomei is just charming enough that I find myself rooting for her instead. I guess it didn’t hurt that her fiancé was a bit of a dull dud.

    And Robert Downey Jr.! With those big puppy dog eyes… he’s a good-looking man, but back in 1994? Wowza. He was exactly what you would expect him to be in a movie like this, but that’s not a bad thing at all. His Damon/Peter is adorably lovesick and goes out of his way to try and prove to Faith that destiny shouldn’t be just a faceless name. I thought he and Tomei had great chemistry together, and I think you still see sparks of it in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War when they share a few moments on screen together.

    Bonnie Hunt is always excellent, and there is a small side plot of her character, Kate, dealing with her unhappy marriage to Faith’s brother, Larry. It’s certainly not as in-depth as the Faith/Peter (Damon) storyline, but it gives the movie a nice dose of realism. On the one hand, Faith is a hopeless romantic who believes in fate. On the other hand, Kate is the woman who has been married for years to the man she believes to be her soulmate, and it’s anything but unicorns and destiny. I won’t spoil the movie for you, but I enjoyed Kate’s subplot and was happy with how it was resolved.

    The script for Only You is whimsical and light, and this honestly felt like an “old school” romantic comedy. It’s utterly devoid of the cynical, unlucky-in-love traits that plague a lot of rom-coms these days, and it brings together two people who just want to believe that love is written in the stars. Now, combine that fluff with the insanely beautiful scenery of Italy, and you have a magical romantic comedy that is perfect for a rainy day or cozy night. Only You requires some suspension of disbelief, but if you can do that, I think you will probably enjoy this one.


    Watched: 08/04/2021
    Notable Song: Once in a Lifetime by Michael Bolton

    Rating: