after having heard so many critics describe " return to me " as an old - fashioned hollywood romance , i kept asking myself going into this movie : what exactly is an old - fashioned hollywood romance ?
what made " return to me " old - fashioned and old - hollywood ? was it the tunes from sinatra , etc . , legendary singers the senior citizens in the film constantly harp on ?
was it the glamorous , sophisticated feel
? the charisma of the two leads ?
even now i ca n't say that i have gotten any closer to the real answer , because i have n't see that many old - fashioned hollywood romances .
i do n't think any of the romances i 've seen have been classified as such . which leaves me the option of vaguely agreeing with my fellow critics -- " return to me " was old - fashioned in the sense that it reminded me of the way the younger generation perceive venerated old hollywood magic , the way
i perceive cinnamon spice and apple cider .
it was traditional , magical .
we knew it could n't be too daring , or have any surprising plot twists that many cynical modern romances are apt to throw in .
it was a romance told with such endearing simplicity , tenderness , and love ( from director bonnie hunt ) that it could n't help but sparkle with charm despite its shortcomings .
the film owes a lot of what it has to bonnie hunt 's direction .
from the very first bird 's eye view of chicago , zooming in slowly toward the insignificant bob rueland ( david duchovny ) , accompanied by the " return to me " ballad ( by whom ? ) , we can tell we 're in for something sweet .
the scenes between the characters are endearing , truthful , with just a hint of fantasy .
real people do n't act that way ; real people are n't that nice .
we know all this , and yet we want to believe in these folks ' existence .
the premise itself seems to have sprung out of a fairytale , but hunt 's rooting the fairytale in common chicago folk simultaneously lends credit to the scenario and tinges everyday urban life with a hint of the ethereal .
everything is ordinary -- yet beautiful -- in this film .
> from the festive little family restaurant to grace ( minnie driver ) and bob 's wardrobes .
from the eloquent , not - in - a - hurry to progress storyline to the dainty watercolors that grace paints .
from the animal stars to the way all the characters interact on screen -- the most beautiful part .
" return to me " has done an excellent job of assembling together a group of actors who blend in effortlessly as a family : the audience has no trouble at all believing that this rambunctious family actually does exist .
we care for them , laugh with them , cry with them ; we 're concerned that the little boy will pick up cursing from his father .
whatever hunt did , she brought out the naturalism in all of the actors .
disappointingly , david alan grier 's charlie , however much i like him , was the most flatly - written .
duchovny here does a laudable job of shaking off his fox mulder persona -- with the help of his fellow co - stars rarely do we see any hint of special agent fox mulder .
instead we have a normal guy who when he falls in love shows more delight than fox mulder will show over the span of an entire season of " the x - files .
" duchovny , who is excellent at understatement and self - deprecation as an actor showcases his considerable comedic talent on screen .
minnie driver is engaging as always
as the sweet , innocent grace with nothing but a good heart to offer .
though an unlikely pair , duchovny and driver gradually warm up to each other as the movie progresses .
while " return to me " functions remarkably as a laugh - out - loud comedy , a romantic scenic tour through chicago , and a tearjerker , the story is set up so the film ends up having nowhere to develop .
the entire climax of the film hinges on when and how grace is going to tell bob that she actually was the recipient of his wife 's heart .
we already know that there 's going to be a happy ending ; we feel like we spend the entire film , however enjoyably , in a straight line going towards that point .
as a result bob and grace click almost too quickly -- yes , i know she 's supposed to have his ex - wife 's heart and everything -- it seems too effortless .
the main subject is a love story , and the family scenes i love so much unfortunately are overused and distract from the turmoil of the two main characters ( whose story might not have that much meat after all ) .
however , in the spirit of " return to me , " it wo n't do to be too picky about how " old " hollywood tells its stories .
i loved knowing that this was a labor of love for bonnie hunt .
it shows .
the bottom line : " return to me " is nothing remarkable , and yet its sweetness , sincerity , and charm might touch your heart in ways that you had n't imagined .
Output: P