Return To Me review

It's that hoary Hollywood chestnut: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl turns out to have the transplanted heart of boy's deceased wife...

Where some romantic comedies use religion, class or social standing to keep their would_be lovers apart, Bonnie Hunt's directorial debut opts for human biology. It sounds somewhat daft, but thanks to the good humour of the actors and script, Return To Me proves a charming addition to the genre.

Architect Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) has the American Dream: a beautiful wife, Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), a gorgeous Chicago apartment and a great job. When fate conspires to wreck Bob's fairy-tale by taking Elizabeth away from him in a car accident, he responds by devoting all of his energies to realising her dream: a gorilla sanctuary at Lincoln Park Zoo where she used to work.

It takes almost a year before Bob agrees to begin dating again, albeit reluctantly, whereupon he meets waitress Grace (Minnie Driver), with whom he feels an inexplicable bond.

Plucking up the courage to ask Grace out on a date, and weathering the questions of her overly protective grandfather Marty (Carroll O'Connor) and his card_playing circle, Bob experiences the first pangs of love for a very long time.

However, behind the smile and the quick wit, Grace conceals a secret which has completely changed her life: 12 months ago she received a heart transplant. A heart, they will soon both learn, donated by Bob's wife...

The central gimmick of the transplant is arguably the film's weakest element. The script never discusses the issue in any real depth. Before the operation, the only time we see Grace is gasping for breath on a hospital gurney, so there is no tangible comparison of life before and after the heart.

Driver is delightful as the emotionally and physically scarred Grace, who gambles everything on Bob, while Duchovny proves his acting range far exceeds what little we see of him as Agent Mulder in The X-Files.

They make an incredibly attractive couple and share a palpable chemistry but it's not exactly the fireworks you'd expect from fated lovers, but it is a refreshingly old-fashioned romance (they go bowling and talk incessantly in the garden) which is something of a rarity nowadays.

The supporting cast frequently steals the show, gifted the majority of the best lines. Hunt and James Belushi are a constant source of joy as Grace's wise-cracking sister and her hubby whose married life - screaming kids, bickering - is the recipe for a surprisingly strong and fruitful marriage.

O'Connor, Robert Loggia and co are wonderful as Grace's family and protectors who take an immediate shine to Bob, and scheme to bring the couple together. The banter between the old men around the card table, which tends to involve animated arguments about whether Dean Martin was a better singer than Frank Sinatra, provides some of the most touching and real moments in the whole film.