Alicia I love this movie so much

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

SnoopyStyle April Epner (Helen Hunt) is happily newly-married to Ben (Matthew Broderick). The 39-year-old teacher was adopted by Jewish mother Trudy and is desperate to have a child of her own. She hates that everybody is pushing for her to adopt. Ben leaves her and Trudy dies. Frank (Colin Firth) is the father of one of her students who is taken with her. His wife had left him to travel the globe with her boyfriend. April is contacted by her daytime talkshow host biological mother Bernice Graves (Bette Midler) who claims her father to be movie star Steve McQueen. Then April discovers that she's pregnant with Ben's baby.This is Helen Hunt's theatrical directing debut. There are some issues with flow and tone. April is a middle age Jewish New Yorker but older Helen Hunt has tended towards white trailer trash. There are opportunities for comedy especially with Midler but Hunt doesn't always play along. Hunt is better dramatically at that point. Even in Mad About You, she was the straight man and the infuriated wife. There is also a weird cameo by Salman Rushdie as the doctor. It's a little head-scratching. The role could have given small jolts of comedy but instead, it's a lot of "I didn't know he acted." Certainly, there is a workmanship to Hunt's directing but there are also issues.

lochtaen I found this film to be both touching and humorous. The acting is first rate and, like life, the events are unpredictable. The characters are believable as they all present flaws. Helen Hunt does an amazing job of directing and acting in this movie. In fact, this movie was a preoccupation for her for more than a decade as she shouldered just about every aspect of its production. Colin Firth, Bette Middler and Mathew Broderick all agreed to work to scale for this picture because they so much liked the scripted and respected Helen Hunt's expertise and commitment. This is another good example showing that big budgets are not required to produce an excellent product.This is a film I shall watch repeatedly over the years.

PaulaMary I really wanted to like this movie, as I like Bette and Colin very much! The story was interesting and should have been very compelling. So why didn't I make it all the way to the end? Because I cannot look at Helen Hunt without wincing. She is so incredibly emaciated it is painful to look at her. HELEN! EAT A FREAKING HAM SAMMICH. Or tuna.Colin Firth was wonderful for as long as I could stand to watch. His character is so engaging. He bounces back and forth from English proper and rumbled Englishman to frantic and too blunt divorced man who's a giant, gaping wound. Bette, as ever balances charming and obnoxious like nobody's business! Her character is a roller coaster and manages to hide her vulnerability behind her usual bluster.I don't know if Skeletor will scare off other viewers, but I hope someone, somewhere can get her to eat some damn thing.

Seemp deHond Helen Hunt I always considered a very mediocre actress and general a miss cast in every production. I guess that makes me bias. When a bad actor is also a poor director and then casts her self as the lead character..now that is just aiming for disaster. And in all fairness it doesn't have to be, Ben Affleck: horrible actor-great director.The story, resembling a season of Days of our Lives in a nutshell doesn't become deeper than a wading pool and Hunt making painful faces makes just for a lot of smurking. On top of that character April Epner is so annoying that you don't understand why people are making any effort for her. Colin Firth looks way too young and too sparkly for his part. And although she keeps saying that she is 39, Hunt obviously is far too old for her part and looks it. Firth and Midler are playing her off the screen and wasting their talents here. Dreadful waste of time.