“Return to Me” is one of the best romantic films released in the last ten years and is, without a doubt, on my top twenty list of “Tristi’s Favorite Movies of All Time.” I doubt I’ll be blogging that list any time soon, as it does shift, but “Return to Me” will remain a fixture.
Bob (David Duchovny) and Elizabeth Rueland are the perfect couple. He runs a successful construction company, she works as a zoologist and an animal rights activist, and they are deeply in love with each other. On the night of a big fundraiser to gather money for a new cage for the zoo’s gorilla, they are in a terrible car accident and Elizabeth is killed. She’s registered to be a donor, and so her heart is given to a patient who has been waiting for a long time for the chance.
That patient is Grace, (Minnie Driver) a girl who has never had a real life. Diagnosed with congenital heart failure at a young age, she’s missed out on all the fun that goes along with being a child. Now in her twenties, she could die at any moment, but just when her family thinks all hope is gone, they get word that a heart has been found. They do the procedure and the transplant is a success.
Bob is devastated. He goes home, Elizabeth’s blood still on his shirt, and cries on his dog’s back in one of the most touching scenes of the movie as he tries to explain to the animal that she won’t be coming home that night, and not ever again. He ends up falling asleep in the doorway, the dog watching over him and still waiting for Elizabeth.
We fast forward a year to see Bob and Grace meet. He’s a diner at the restaurant owned by her family, and he’s immediately taken with her. They date and fall in love, and then Grace discovers that she is the recipient of Bob’s dead wife’s heart. How can their relationship stand a challenge like that?
I love this movie for so many reasons. Bob loved his wife dearly but finds a way to open up again to Grace. When he finds out that Grace has Elizabeth’s heart, he does everything in his power to be fair to her. She does the same for him, going on a trip to give him time to think things over. They build a sweet friendship before heading into a romance, creating a bond that goes beyond just the physical.
The only fly in this otherwise perfect ointment is the character played by Jim Belushi. Every other word out of his mouth is a swear word. In fact, I’d recommend muting the volume every time the camera pans to him. I’m not sure why the scriptwriters felt that such a liberal peppering of words was necessary. Maybe they were having a bad day; I don’t know. Other than that, I wholeheartedly recommend this movie and proclaim it a perfect date flick.
Related Blogs: