Return to Me is a 2000 American romantic comedy and drama film directed by Bonnie Hunt. The movie stars David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It was filmed in Chicago and released on April 7, 2000, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. This was Carroll O'Connor's last movie before he passed away the next year.
Plot
Bob and Elizabeth Rueland live and work in Chicago. Bob is an architect, and Elizabeth is a zoologist at Lincoln Park Zoo.
On the night of a fundraiser for a new primate house, Bob promises Elizabeth he will finish the building. However, Elizabeth is killed in a car accident after leaving the fundraiser. Her heart is given to Grace Briggs, an artist who has had heart disease since age 14 and was close to death.
The surgery is successful, and Grace is able to live a normal life for the first time. She plans to take her first airplane trip to Italy to paint. Grace’s best friend, Megan Dayton, encourages her to start dating, even though Grace feels shy about a long scar on her chest from the surgery.
After the surgery, Grace writes a letter to the donor’s family, thanking them for the heart she received. However, she takes more than a year to mail the letter. Bob works to complete the primate house for which Elizabeth raised money, but he remains sad a year after her death and realizes he must move forward with his life.
A friend arranges a blind date for Bob, but the date goes poorly because the person is annoying, mean, and focused only on themselves. However, Bob is drawn to Grace, a waitress and the granddaughter of the restaurant’s owner.
Although neither knows they are connected through Elizabeth’s heart, Bob and Grace begin dating. As their relationship grows, Grace avoids sharing her medical history. After several months, Grace decides to tell Bob about the transplant. Before she can, she finds the letter she had written months earlier in Bob’s house.
Shocked by the discovery, Grace runs away and tells Megan what happened. Megan’s husband, Joe, becomes angry, thinking Bob is married. Megan shouts at Joe, “Grace has Bob’s dead wife’s heart!” When Grace meets Bob again, she tells him the truth, leaving him speechless.
Against Megan’s advice to confront the situation, Grace travels to Italy alone. Later, Bob realizes he still misses Elizabeth but feels a strong connection to Grace. He reunites with her in Italy, and they return to Chicago for the dedication of the new primate house.
The characters, including a pregnant Megan, dance at a wedding reception.
Production
In July 1997, Bonnie Hunt made a deal with MGM to direct a movie called Distance Calls. The movie is about a man who falls in love with the woman who received his late wife’s heart. Andrew Stern and Samantha Goodman wrote the script, and Hunt helped rewrite it. In January 1999, the movie’s title changed to Return to Me. David Duchovny was one of the main actors, and Minnie Driver was close to joining the cast.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. According to 102 reviews, it has a score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. The general opinion is that "David Duchovny and Minnie Driver bring heartwarming romance and comedy to this strong first film directed by Bonnie Hunt." On Metacritic, which calculates scores using a special method, the film received a score of 54 out of 100 based on 33 critics. This score means the reviews were mixed or average.
Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "Return to Me is very traditional in style and has a warm, positive tone." Roger Ebert described the film as "innocent, naive, sweet, and sincere," adding that viewers should leave their doubts behind or choose a different movie. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ grade and noted that "David Duchovny’s calm performance does not help him connect with Minnie Driver." Jay Carr of The Boston Globe called the film "too simple and unexciting in the end."
The film opened in fourth place at the North American box office, earning $7.8 million in its first weekend. It earned this amount behind The Road to El Dorado, Erin Brockovich, and Rules of Engagement. Over its entire run, the film made $32,662,299 at the box office.