Rating: 
Summary: Delightfully Romantic!
Review: My husband and I really enjoyed this movie. We compared it to the likes of Sleepless in Seattle and A Walk in the Clouds. So sweet and tender, and although it had some sad moments, those moments didn't overpower the movie. There were plenty of humorous scenes with Bonnie Hunt and James Belushi, as well as the old codgers in the restaurant arguing who was the best singer that ever lived.
If you want a good feeling and find yourself smiling after a movie, see this one. We are putting it in our DVD library for sure.
Rating:
Summary: Whatta Surprise!!
Review: I went to this movie thinking, ok, KNOWING I'd absolutely hate it! My beloved picked it for our anniverary flick. I figured I was doomed. Instead, I loved it! David Dechovny (The X-Files' Mulder) and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) were great together as Bob and Grace! Cynical as I am, I actually believed they loved each other! You probably know the plot by now, about how Grace (Driver) is in need of a new heart and ends up receiving Duchovny's wife (who dies in an accident)'s heart. Now, this sounds like it could veer off into pitter-pat-land, but Bonnie Hunt (writer / director / co-star) keeps it cool! There's lots of humor and sarcasm. Bonnie Hunt and Jim Belushi are hysterical as Grace's married (with children) friends. Carrol O'Conner and Robert Loggia shine as co-owners of the restaurant where Grace works (O'Conner's character is her grandather). David Alan Grier is excellent as Bob's best friend. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there's romantic stuff too! It's not overly gooshy, so, even though there were no killer cyborgs, explosions, or gun battles, etc., I found myself really enjoying this movie! Highly recommended...
Rating: 
Summary: Great actors, weak commentary
Review: Others here ... have told you how great the movie is, and I agree. My review is about the commentary track by Bonnie hunt and Don Lake. After all, that is the main reason many people buy DVDs - for the special features. Bonnie Hunt has this habit of allowin very long pauses in the commentary track while she watches the movie, which has the volume turned dowm low because we are not supposed to be listening to the movie while you are supposed to speak, dear Bonnie. Don Lake is almost non-existant in the commentary, allowing Bonnie to run the whole track. There were many times when I wanted her to give insider information of what was happening, but her inside info was limited to telling which of her many relatives she cast in what roles. If you are buying this movie just to watchthe move, it's worth it. If you are buying it for the extras, don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Ya Gotta Have Heart
Review: (3 1/2 stars)This is a poignant, romantic comedy that works off the premise that the love of a good heart gone astray will triumph over all obstacles, and find its way back to where it belongs. And yet, in spite of its kitschy premise, this movie works. David Duchovny (X-Files) plays Chicago architect Bob Rueland, whose zoo-director wife, Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), was killed in a car crash. (Good! The establishing scenes at the beginning, that present the wife as beyond saintly, are the worst part of the film. Diabetics are warned that the first ten minutes may be dangerous to their health.) Minnie Driver is young, aspiring artist Grace Briggs, who will die, if she doesn't get a heart transplant. She gets Bob's late wife's heart. Bob grieves. His friends (most notably David Alan Grier, as zoo vet Charlie Johnson) grieve. His dog grieves. Even the ape at the zoo grieves. Meanwhile, Grace may have a heart, but she doesn't have a life. She waits tables for her Irish uncle, Marty O'Reilly (Carroll O'Connor), and his old friend, Angelo Pardipillo (Robert Loggia), at the Irish-Italian restaurant they own together. Grace's extended family tries to set her up, e.g., with a man who tends to lapse back into his former vocation as a priest. Meanwhile, Bob's friend Charlie sets him up with obnoxious blind dates that make grieving look like fun. Eventually, the stars cross paths, and -- some complications notwithstanding -- their lives are made new. But you know what? This movie is so much better than its synopsis. That's because its real star is Bonnie Hunt, the ubiquitous character actress who directed, co-wrote, and (if memory serves) co-produced the movie. (Though it doesn't say so at amazon.com's IMDB, I could have sworn Hunt's credits included producer, when I saw this as an in-flight movie.) Except for the first few minutes, Hunt often comes dangerously close to cloying sentimentality, without crossing the line. And while the chemistry between the stars is good, David Duchovny and Minnie Driver are no Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Recognizing this, Hunt exquisitely cast a bevy of supporting roles that carry the movie, from David Alan Grier's skirt-chasing veterinarian, Charlie Johnson, to Chicago's own James Belushi, as working-class husband Joe Dayton (whose wife, Megan, is played by Hunt) to the old men of the restaurant (O'Connor, Loggia, Eddie Jones). She even gets dramatic mileage out of the animals. And any moviemaker who can come up with a good, sizeable role for Carroll O'Connor has something on the ball, in my book [this review was originally published in 2000, before O'Connor's death]. The highest compliment I can pay Bonnie Hunt the director, is that she doesn't waste a single scene or role. The other thing Hunt does well is to present two kinds of romance. There's the falling-in-love kind we expect from this sort of movie, as well as another kind you almost never see in pictures: the wry, wisecracking fell-in-love, stayed-in-love romance of Belushi and Hunt's Joe and Megan Dayton, who by now have a mess of kids. Hunt and her collaborator, Don Lake, came up with some good lines, and can be forgiven for taking the shtick from Norman Jewison's Moonstruck of using a Dean Martin song ("Return to Me") as a running, romantic theme. Return to Me is a good choice for the date who's coming over to the house for the first time, or the "date" whose name has shared space on mailboxes with yours for many years.
Rating:
Summary: SIGH SOOOO SWEET
Review: This movie is so sweet. It completely touched my heart. David is so romantic in this movie. Minnie Driver is wonderful and quite funny also. The old men in the movie are probably the funniest characters; they are always spying and meddling but in such funny ways.
Rating:
Summary: A Swan Song
Review: From the wonderful background selection of music, Bennet, Martin, Sinatra, to the charming and amusing relationship between Robert Loggia and Carroll O'Connor, as two old guys who run an Irish Italian restaurant together. Their performances are worth the cost of the DVD alone. But many other factors make this movie a great date movie. The chemistry between Minnie Driver and David Ducovany. The vulgar comedy of Jim Belushi. The thoughtful scrrenplay and direction which never lets this story get sappy and allows the humor moments of poignancy between the chuckles. And as his final appearance on the big screen O'Connor could not have picked a better role for his memory. This movie is destined to become an undiscovered classic, everytime soneone discovers it.
Rating:
Summary: Warning to parents
Review: This movie would have been so much better without the
salty language. Even though it is rated PG and is a sweet
story, I wouldn't want my children to watch this movie.
I was especially disappointed that most of the vulgar
language was the Jim Belushi character cursing around
his children. It wasn't necessary to the
otherwise heartwarming story (no pun intended).
Rating:
Summary: Great Chick Flick for Guys.
Review: Guys, buy this movie. You will like it and your girlfriend will give you luv points. :) It's a funny movie with a good cast and story. The guys in the irish/italian diner are worth the movie just to watch them.
Rating:
Summary: can't stop singing it to myself
Review: I love the return to me CD! The only problem is , is that I can't stop singing Return to Me at work. I love both the Dean Martin version and the other one by Joey Gia. The only song that I wish was included was the Frank Sinatra cut. But I still love it, and I love the Jackie Gleason Orchestra, it reminds me of my Dad! Thanks P Foresi
Rating:
Summary: Return to a Good 'ol Fashion Love Story
Review: RETURN TO ME is a "not too over the top" romantic comedy with some pathos (Okay! It could be a tearjerker at times!) and a very likeable cast. Good to see Carroll O'Conner in one of his last film roles and a good supporting cast with Robert Loggia (INDEPENDENCE DAY, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS), Bonnie Hunt (who also directed), James Belushi, and David Alan Grier (tv's IN LIVING COLOR). David Duchovny and Minnie Driver pull off the lead roles in a story of a "will they or will they not get together" plot and have very good on screen chemistry. In fact the whole cast has pretty good chemistry. The Chicago setting and the Irish/Italian restaurant bar is very atmospheric. All around very entertaining film with a top notch cast and very good performances all around. Worth a second look because there are some pretty good plot intricacies, humor, characters to care about and a great soundtrack.
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