THEN SHE FOUND ME (Helen Hunt) Rating: NNNN
Helen Hunt’s debut feature is a small film dealing with the big issues of adoption, mothering and betrayal.
Hunt plays uptight April, who’s desperate to have a child but won’t adopt – she felt less than wholly loved by her own adoptive mother. Her world turns upside down when her birth mom (Bette Midler) shows up just after April’s been dumped by her husband (Matthew Broderick, doing his terrific weasel shtick).
The tone shifts are often problematic – the artificial insemination scenes border on silly – but the mother/daughter relationships are smartly written, and Hunt nails her perpetually overwhelmed character. The film’s emotions creep up on you.
Genius ending.
