Then She Found Me (2007)

A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes ... See full summary »

Director:

Helen Hunt

Writers:

Alice Arlen (screenplay), Victor Levin (screenplay),

Stars:

Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helen Hunt	...	April Epner
Bette Midler	...	Bernice Graves
Colin Firth	...	Frank
Matthew Broderick	...	Ben
Ben Shenkman	...	Freddy
Lynn Cohen	...	Trudy Epner
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Alan
Salman Rushdie	...	Dr. Masani
Daisy Tahan	...	Ruby
Tommy Nelson	...	Jimmy Ray
Stephanie Yankwitt	...	Stacey
Lillias White	...	Sheila (as Lillias D. White)
David Callegati	...	Gianni
Kenneth Stern	...	Rabbi (as Rabbi Kenneth A. Stern)
Robert LuPone	...	Ted

Storyline

A New York schoolteacher hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother, an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father of one of her students.

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Plot Keywords:

talk show host | jewish | brooklyn new york city | reception | apology | 

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Taglines:

Life can change in a heartbeat.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Offical site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

1 May 2008 (Israel)

Also Known As:

Cuando todo cambia

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$72,594 (USA) (25 April 2008)

Gross:

$3,735,303 (USA) (12 September 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Watch Productions, Blue Rider Pictures, John Wells Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Tim Robbins directed his first feature film, Bob Roberts, Helen Hunt appeared in a brief cameo as a television news reporter. When Hunt made her feature directorial debut with this film, Robbins returned the favor and appears briefly as one of the interviewees on the Bette Midler character's talk show.

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Goofs

The passenger side shoulder belt in April's car is present for Bernice's scene and missing for Frank's.

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Quotes

April Epner: I know what I did to you, to you in particular. Kinda worst nightmare kind of thing, right? I knew that. Even at the time I knew that.
Frank: What else?
April Epner: I'll do it again, I will, I'll hurt you again and again. Not like that, you'd have to leave me if I hurt you like that. If we were together you would leave me if I hurt you like that again, wouldn't you?
Frank: Yes. Yes, I would.
April Epner: Good. But I'll hurt you in other ways, little ways, I won't mean to but I will. And sometimes I will mean to.
Frank: This is quite an ...
[...]

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Connections

References Bullitt (1968)

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Soundtracks

"In The Red"
Written by Tina Dickow and Mark Weston
Performed by Tina Dickow
Courtesy of Defend Music

User Reviews

Hooray for Helen Hunt

Actually, it's very unlikely if "Then She Found Me" will take in the bucks that a new James Bond or Indiana Jones movie might do. But I just saw an advanced screening last night through Film Independent with Hunt present for q and a. I must say I was extremely satisfied. A chick flick this is, but it's a masterful one and I highly recommend it. Gestating for ten years, she took the plunge as co-producer, co-writer, played the lead character and made her directorial feature debut of this tale of broken trusts and betrayals.

I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers as there are many surprises here and probably best seen without even seeing the trailer. I will say there's a strong Jewish theme that the novel this was based on had and Hunt saw no reason to change that. In fact, atonement is very big in the Jewish faith. It starts off with her getting married to Matthew Broderick and we quickly find out that he's totally pathetic and selfish.

Hunt gets outstanding performances from Colin Firth and Bette Midler whose own characters have their own baggage that Hunt's character is forced to deal with. That in itself is what makes "Then She Found Me" so refreshing. We human beings are so imperfectly perfect and the issues the players here play with are quite believable. On top of everything else, Helen Hunt's character has a baby time clock and she's no longer a spring chicken.

As an actress, she is as good as she was in "As Good As It Gets". Actually, there is some "borrowed" dialog towards the ending from that, but that's a moot point. It's perfectly acceptable to repeat what one has done before especially if it was done well. How many times has Woody Allen copied himself and seems to get more self centered each time? With this film, Helen Hunt has proved a woman can also make an excellent film of fractured relationships, a genre he did help invent.

In closing, I do hope this film gets the attention it deserves. Like a lot of geeks, I sit through a lot of films and most disappoint or I find myself looking at my watch. Not so with this one, I found this to be very insightful and entertaining.