For a simple romantic comedy, "Return to Me,"has certainly inspired divergent reviews. Some have called it a cross between "Moonstruck" and "ER," and other reviewers haven't been that indulgent.
To come even remotely close to "Moonstruck," that blatant broadside of urban madness (and tenderness), would be a noble achievement. That sort of movie just doesn't tumble out of Hollywood very often.
Anyhow, we are in Chicago where Grace (Minnie Driver) is awaiting a heart transplant, and Bob (David Duchovny) has just lost his wife in a car accident. Grace receives Bob's wife's heart, a fact unbeknownst to both of them.
Bob one day wanders into the restaurant owned by Grace's Irish grandpa where Grace waits table, and the action starts. Grandpa (Carroll O'Connor) and his sidekick, Grace's Italian great-uncle (Robert Loggia), decide to matchmaker between the two innocents.
Apparently there's plenty of comic hijinks between Grace's relatives to make up for the lackluster acting of Duchovny. According to one reviewer, he can't cast off his "X-Files" persona.
The cast is backed up by James Belushi and Bonnie Hunt. Hunt also wrote and directed the film, which is called a "billet-doux" to her native Chicago, where the city is shown "saturated with ripe color."
It is rated PG for language and thematic elements.
Return to Me starts Thursday at Sunny Isle Theatres.
