Return To Me

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Duchovny and Driver have distinctive good looks and they both combine attractiveness with talent and intelligence. Best of all, they possess that essential quality all screen lovers must have: terrific chemistry.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

Comes off as an exceedingly pleasant, wistful romantic romp.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Saved throughout by its inviting atmosphere and richness of characters.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A welcome return to the courtship, cuddling and sweet nothings of yesteryear.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

This romantic comedy is about a love that is destined to be, and it celebrates that warm huddle of caring and craziness called family.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

It is what it is, without apology or compromise. It made me smile a lot.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A top cast, guided by actress Bonnie Hunt in her directing debut, mixes comedy and corn with savvy.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Almost seems like a godsend in this age of romantic-comedy schmaltz.

Slate David Edelstein

Duchovny is rather endearing and Driver's absolutely enchanting.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

As light and fluffy as it is, Return to Me still proves surprisingly inviting.

Chicago Tribune Marc Caro

These characters deserve more than storybook plotting, as do we. The movie has won our hearts. It shouldn't be so timid about challenging our minds.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The real strength of Return to Me is Hunt, who knows just when to retreat from the film's overriding sweetness and inject a cynical moment or two.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The cinematic equivalent of meat loaf -- comfort food that's reassuring in its utter lack of sophistication and surprises.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

She (Hunt) is perfection even when her movie falls a little short.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Crammed with such earnest belief in the power of love - even if it happens in the Chicago Zoo - it almost doesn't matter that O'Connor and Loggia have better chemistry than Duchovny and Driver.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

But there is a satisfying, old-fashioned "Moonstruck" sensibility at work, one that will be appreciated by folks who like their beef corned and their movies cornier.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

If Return to Me is ultimately too bland and safe, it'll nevertheless serve as a calling card for Hunt's future directorial projects.

Newsweek Andrea C. Basora

In the second half the film meanders into all the danger areas one might expect: predictable plot twists, tearful separation scenes between the lovers, and even a joyful reunion in Rome.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

First-time director Bonnie Hunt pays slavish adherence to the Nora Ephron rules of assembly for the prefab rom-com.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

There's little rapport between Duchovny and Driver after their initial meeting. More exciting and suspenseful is the relationship between Driver's confidant (Hunt) and her husband (James Belushi), who can't seem to get all their kids to go to sleep at the same time.

Portland Oregonian Diana Abu-Jaber

Some might call this cheap, formulaic and manipulative, but then again, it still might make you cry.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Hunt is so vibrant that the movie suffers when she's not around.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Trite and silly, but, blast it, the movie has a good heart.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Infused with enough infectious charm to make us forget how dopey the plot is and become swept up in its breezy countenance.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Essentially a romantic comedy with a heavier-than-usual dramatic component.

Variety Emanuel Levy

A simplistic, highly contrived romantic comedy about the mysterious workings of fate.

Film.com Robert Horton

A difficult time rising above the level of a reasonably nice TV-movie.

TNT RoughCut Erin Podolsky

The two leads are what sell it.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Where else could this flabby excuse for a women's movie go? Straight to the Oxygen Channel, if it's lucky.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

So phony it makes your gums ache.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Weightless and polite when it means to be magical and gentle, Return to Me is a piece of fruit gone soft from being off the vine too long.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

If you get past the preposterous hypothesis at the start of Return to Me, you'll find a passably pleasant, utterly bland romantic comedy without a surprise to its 110 minutes.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The picture goes for sentimentality rather than substance every chance it gets, and the cast falls right into its syrupy trap.