A sometimes affecting comedy-drama, actress Helen Hunt’s directorial debut Then She Found Me succeeds best as lightweight sitcom-level fare; when heading down deeper dramatic territory, however, it simply doesn’t come off.
We never quite believe in or care enough for these characters, whose actions feel more motivated by the pens of the writers than of their own volition.
Film is best taken as something akin to Hunt’s popular 90’s sitcom Mad About You.
Hunt stars as school teacher April Epner, adopted daughter in a highly religious Jewish family, desperate to have a child of her own. In quick succession: her husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) leaves her, her adoptive mother dies, and her biological mother (Bette Midler) storms into her life looking to strike up a relationship.
She also strikes up a relationship with Frank (Colin Firth), the single father of one of her students. Much of this is established within the first fifteen minutes, leaving us with a movie about April’s interactions, conflicts, and resolutions with these three characters.
Movie is efficiently directed and never wears out is welcome; while never laugh-out-loud funny, it’s quietly amusing throughout.
Director Hunt mishandles key dramatic scenes, however, using a point-and-shoot method that hangs her actors (usually herself) out to dry.
There’s nothing in the film that suggests the material should live outside the world of TV dramedy.
