Based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Elinor Lipman, THEN SHE FOUND ME is a good pick for Helen Hunt’s directorial debut.  It offers Hunt the opportunity to both direct, act (she plays the main role) and work in a part that is close to her age (which shows) and path in life.  The story, a romantic drama about a 39-year schoolteacher, April whose biological clock is ticking fast is one that combines a mother-daughter relationship with the topic of motherhood. 

The romance is between April and a father of two children (Colin Firth), but her pregnancy comes from her former husband, who she deems still a kid (Matthew Broderick).  The drama heightens as April suddenly finds herself stalked by her real mother, a rich and successful television personality, Bernice Graves (Bette Midler) who want to make it up to April for abandoning her as a baby.  Add in some religion and culture in the form of April’s Jewish adoptive mother (what happened to the father?) and here we have classic drama with a bit of social comedy.

The problem of Hunt’s film is her ability to blend in all her ingredients to build a climax in which the audience does not have to think to figure what her film is about.  For one, Hunt could have used April’s bonding of her birth mother and her baby’s birth to move her story into fill circle.  She also opts for sentiment instead of subtlety.  Critics do not normally like voiceover in film, but more could have been used in this film to create a solid frame of mind for her heroine, April.  The love making scenes with the actors fully clothed have an awkward feel given the nudity in films these days.  (Who makes love ever with their clothes still on?)

The film makes certain changes to the novel making it more filmable.  In the novel both April’s parents were holocaust survivors and her biological clock was not the main issue.  The second change undermines the fact that the death of her adoptive mother and discover of her real mother should have been an impetus to her wanting to have a baby of her own.

Hunt and Midler deliver excellent performances.  Midler provides the much needed humour.  Hunt is brave enough to look tired and fed up for her part.  Too bad – if the film could not have been more powerful, both actors might have been worthy Oscar contenders.  THE SHE FOUND ME is good as well as boring in parts, but by the end, the viewer knows that something is missing in the film – and that is a good solid whole theme.