Return To Me (2000)

Bonnie Hunt ("The Bonnie Hunt Show", The Green Mile), directed this gentle romantic comedy. Set in Chicago, it tells the story of a doctor named Bob (David Duchovny) who's wife is killed in a horrible auto accident early on in the film. Months later, his friend Charlie (David Alan Grier) tells Bob he needs to get on with his life and start dating again. Reluctantly, Bob agrees to be set up on a date. His date jumps down the waitress' throat over having bottled water. The doctor spies the waitress exacting revenge by filling up a designer water bottle with good ol' tap water. They exchange smiles. Later, he finds out the waitress' name is Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver).

Grace's family, a mix of Italians and Irishmen, runs the restaurant/bar that she works in. Her grandfathers, Angelo (Robert Loggia) and Marty (Carroll O'Connor) hold court their regularly. Until recently, Grace had to deal with a bad heart condition. She finally had an operation to replace her old heart. What neither Grace nor Bob knows is that the new heart Grace has belonged to Bob's late wife. Through a series of circumstances, Grace eventually finds out, and their budding romance is thrown into a tailspin.

This movie has a very Chicago feel to it. Ms. Hunt is from the Windy City, and no doubt is familiar with families like those of Grace. The scenes with them bickering and fussing over each other felt very lifelike to me. There are some familar locations like Brookfield Zoo and Lincoln Park, but the heart of the story is set back in the neighborhoods.

Duchovny ("The X-Files") and Driver (Good Will Hunting) make a nice couple. Ms. Hunt appears in the film as a relative of Grace, with James Belushi ("According To Jim") playing her loveable slob of a husband. David Alan Grier was a cast member on "In Living Color". Robert Loggia had a popular 1960s adventure show called "T.H.E. Cat". The late Carroll O'Connor had a long career in both TV and film, most notably as bigoted Archie Bunker on "All In The Family."