Day Three Hundred and Seven - Return To Me, "also known as 'Romance for 40-Somethings'"

In every era of filmmaking there are attempts to drag the romantic date movie out of the exclusive realm of twenty to thirtysomethings and tap into the love lines of the older set. Around the same time that this came out there was also You've Got Mail, another almost saccharine sweet 'will they/won't they, in spite of the elephant in the room.'

The first fifteen minutes or so of the film introduce us to David Duchovny's Bob who is a successful architect and happily married to a zoologist who, after we're shown their perfect little life, dies as a result of a car accident. We also meet Minnie Driver's Grace who has a congenital heart issue that requires a transplant. Lo and Behold, she receives Bob's dead wife's heart, unbeknownst to both of them.

I mean, they both know someone go the transplant... but they don't know who got/gave it due to the anonymity of the organ bank. That doesn't stop Grace from sending a letter of thanks (even though she's very hesitant), though, which the organ bank passes on to Bob.

Skip to a horrible set-up by Bob's generic African-American best friend (another trope of these kinds of movies), played by David Allen Grier, which coincidentally takes Bob to the same restaurant that Grace's family owns and she works at. They have a moment or two and the rest, as they say, is history, as the remainder of the film is the two of them falling in love until that fateful moment when Grace finds the letter and has to confess that she was the one who got the heart.

Let me tell you, this film is designed to make women swoon and tear up. Whether it's how generically perfect the male lead is or how cutely insecure the female lead remains for the majority of the film, not to mention the "happy family" contrast that best friends Bonnie Hunt and James Belushi hold up, there are far, far too many moments of "Awwwwww...." Though that's not necessarily a bad thing, it just make for an okay movie and not a great one.

The main conflict is about as weak as they come as, despite the lingering love for his lost wife, Bob and Grace should have been more than able to work out this extremely unlikely little wrinkle without her having to move to Rome to supposedly give Bob his space. Blech. Still, it is unbearably sweet.

I think what really did it for me where the supporting characters, particularly Carroll O'Connor and (still kicking) Robert Loggia as Grace's Grandfather and Granduncle  respectively. They and their group of friends (which includes Eddie Jones from Lois & Clark and Dune fame), are a terrific bunch of Greatest Generation Irish and Italian stereotypes, infatuated with bowling and The Rat Pack. The innocent meddling they do is so much more cute and entertaining than Grier's attempts, though I had to cringe when they finally met Grier's Charlie for the first time and can only talk about how they like Sammy Davis, Jr., and Bills Cosby, and... well, you see where this is going.

Overall, Return to Me is your typical Chick Flick that is pretty safe as the closest they ever get to sex is innuendo and a little necking (since Grace is severely self-conscious about her scar). It's not the greatest, but is definitely a professional achievement that co-star, writer, and director Bonnie Hunt can be proud of, I think. Kudos to you, Bonnie.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-five - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episode 13, "Welp, I'm bored."

I find myself conflicted with this episode.

I want to write a long, poignant, inspired diatribe against the middle of the second season being weak and flaccid both in terms of story and writing, but I can't seem to find the energy. No, really, I can't. Even though it features David Duchovny both as Dennis and Denise, donning a suit to go undercover and catch Jean Renault and reverting back to transvestism to trick him for a second time.

I'm also kind of pissed that Major Briggs is visibly shaken by his ordeal wherever/whenever he went after the campout with Agent Cooper. Even when he first returned, last episode, he wasn't trembling with fear and doubt. Definitely not in character and that's supposed to be impactful, but instead it's annoying.

It's just... ugh.

James does the typically soapy thing and believes everything his new lover and her "brother" tell him, Bobby abandons Shelly to her caregiver duties while he tries to take advantage of a "golden opportunity" with apparently bonkers Ben Horne, and Norma and Ed are finally giving in to their urges, despite Nadine and Hank.

That's not to say there aren't a few moments here and there.

I really liked when Coop picked up the doughnut with a bite taken out of it, and it was pretty cute when Nadine hulked out and beat the crap out of Hank, but this was a pretty disappointing episode overall. It's a little intriguing, the corpse that Coop's ex-partner leaves at the police department, but I'm just not feeling it. Hopefully things will get better when Heather Graham shows up as Annie.

Either way, short post today... just nothing to talk about. Sad, really. Kudos to Leo for finally dropping the facade, though (or is it really him? Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun!).

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Two Hundred and Ninety-four - Twin Peaks: Season 2, Episodes 11 & 12, "Mulder, you are a FOX!"

And here he is... it took almost twenty episodes, but tonight we finally get David Duchovny in his famous role of Denise/Dennis, the transvestite DEA agent who comes to investigate the frame job that Jean Renault and company are fitting Agent Cooper for.

I don't know if it has any merit, but I like to think that the work David did there in Twin Peaks directly resulted in his landing the role of Fox Mulder in the X-files just a year or two later. That's the head canon that I'm sticking to, anyway.

In any case, Denise comes to town and almost immediately knows the score, having worked with Cooper before in Oakland, but evidence is needed. Luckily for Agent Cooper, several clues fall directly into his lap thanks to an opportune (supernatural?) coin flip and a little insider info from Audrey, who has photographic evidence of Hank and Jean's new partnership. It seems Ben hired Bobby to follow Hank and Coop is the prime beneficiary.

Elsewhere in Twin Peaks (and outside of it), James takes an Easy Rider road trip, Josie attempts to make peace with Catherine and winds up an indentured servant instead, Nadine impresses the high school gym teacher with her preternatural strength and tries out for the wrestling team, Major Briggs teleports back into existence, and the Mayor's brother (Tony Jay) gets married and dies so quick it's hard to call Tony's role anything but a special guest appearance. I swear, the man gets barely five minutes of screen time before he's fitted with a toe tag thanks to overexertion on his wedding night. Hard to blame him, though, as it seems any male in his blushing bride's direct vicinity falls under a spell... and this includes both Dick and Andy (much to Lucy's consternation).

If you didn't know already from previous entries in our Twin Peaks Spooktacular, Denise is one of my favorite characters, along with Albert. Now that I think about it, if it weren't for new villain Windham Earle and Internal Affairs Agent Hardy (whom is played quite well by Clarence Williams III, but isn't a very sympathetic or fun character), it would be safe to say that all the FBI White Hats comprise my favorite characters... being Coop, Albert, Gordon, and Denise. They're all smart, odd, and gung ho about justice. My kind of people.

I also love how jealous Audrey gets when Denise interrupts their tête-à-tête. That rushed kiss to mark her territory is hilariously cute and Denise's questioning after her is a quaint little nod that deepens the context of his transvestism.

Can't say I'm happy with James' new storyline, but when am I ever? The whole femme fatale/damsel in distress routine is so blatantly obvious that I can't even role my eyes anymore. If I weren't watching the show for the blog, I would totally be fast forwarding every single moment of it... taking a cue from my sister, actually, and how she dealt with boring storylines in her soaps.

I'm also kind of ambivalent when it comes to the new Audrey/Bobby angle that is developing. Not only is he trying to put the moves on someone else, completely disrespecting Shelly, but going after Audrey? One can only hope it's just as it seems and she's using him to keep an eye on her father. Time shall tell, I suppose (or not... as I can't remember if that resolves before the series ended).

Boy was I ever glad that Major Briggs made it back safe... but it looks like, whatever story he has to tell, it's probably going to knock someone for a negative loop. With that uniform, you can only hope that it's time travel!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~