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Helen Hunt returns with “Then She Found Me”

Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress Helen Hunt has emerged from the where-the-hell-have-you-been cold case files! Phew. It’s dark and moldy in those little boxes in which Hollywood tosses its female stars of yesteryear. Hunt will soon be seen in Then She Found Me, a comedy with drama and a little romance, also starring Matthew Broderick, Colin Firth and the Divine Ms. M, Bette Midler. But what’s even nicer than seeing Hunt in front of the camera is that this new film features Hunt behind the camera, as well. Then She Found Me is Helen Hunt’s feature film directorial debut, and it is has received its fair share of positive press from earlier film festivals. The film is at last winding its way to a general release in April.

The movie has been adapted from a novel by Elinor Lipman of the same name, and Hunt helped to pen the screenplay. Writer, director, and star? Is that the new Hollywood version of the triple threat?

In Then She Found Me, Hunt plays an unassuming schoolteacher who finds out that she is the biological daughter of an abrasive talk show host (played by Midler) who placed her baby for adoption at birth. The pairing of Hunt with Midler as the unlikely mother-and-daughter combo is enough of a draw for me to buy a movie ticket for this one, but the story also seems interesting in that modern-day complicated twist sort of way. You see, Hunt’s character is ending a relationship with a pretty annoying guy (Broderick) and beginning a relationship with a flawed but nice enough guy (Firth) who has a daughter enrolled at the school where Hunt’s character teaches. Hunt’s character learns that she is pregnant with her ex’s baby, though she is still trying to see where her relationship will go with the new guy. Talk about dyke drama! Oh, wait — I don’t think there are any lesbian characters in this; just lesbian icons. Well, anyway, here’s the latest trailer:

Hunt directed several Mad About You episodes, including the finale of the beloved series, but she had never tried her hand at a feature. In a recent interview, Hunt discusses the journey of making the film. It took years to get this movie made, then seen, and now finally distributed and released. And it paid off: Hunt was awarded the Breakthrough Director of the Year at ShoWest.

Hunt has had a pretty robust 35-year film and television career. For a woman, the on-screen career can often dry up much earlier than the careers of her male counterparts, and historically there have not been a lot of female directors in film. But there has been a trend of actors turning directors and starting an entirely new second career behind the camera, with Clint Eastwood as the role model and leading the pack. Lately, Sean Penn, Ben Affleck and Denzel Washington are all looking at shifting their focus to directing. Well, the guys may have to make room in line, because based on the early accounts of Then She Found Me, Hunt may have a future in this directing business. The film opens April 25.

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