April, 39, wants a baby but her husband leaves her. When her adoptive mother dies, she's contacted by her biological mother, a TV talk show host. April starts seeing the divorced dad of one ... Read allApril, 39, wants a baby but her husband leaves her. When her adoptive mother dies, she's contacted by her biological mother, a TV talk show host. April starts seeing the divorced dad of one of her students at school.April, 39, wants a baby but her husband leaves her. When her adoptive mother dies, she's contacted by her biological mother, a TV talk show host. April starts seeing the divorced dad of one of her students at school.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 1 nomination
- Sheila
- (as Lillias D. White)
- Rabbi
- (as Rabbi Kenneth A. Stern)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFeature film writing, directing, and producing debut for Helen Hunt. She also acted.
- GoofsThe ultrasound picture at six weeks is not developmentally correct. At six weeks, the baby's features (hands, spine, etc.) would not be able to be distinguished; it would look more like a bean in shape.
- Quotes
April Epner: Your wife was seeing someone else?
Frank: Pretty much everyone else. I was too much for her.
April Epner: Your wife? I'm sure she didn't feel that way.
Frank: She told me.
April Epner: What did she say?
Frank: 'You're too much for me.'
April Epner: Ugh.
- SoundtracksMazel Tov Zelda - Zeydns Tants
Written by Dave Tarras
Performed by The Klezmatics
Courtesy of Rounder Records
Not only does Helen Hunt star as April, but she also co-wrote the screenplay with Alice Arlen and Victor Levin and makes her big-screen directorial debut. Granted she's more impressive as an actress than a filmmaker, but as a director and writer, she makes the most of a storyline that stacks the deck a bit like a Lifetime TV-movie. There are enough realistic surprises that take the plot off the rails in a good way. Looking gaunt and avoiding much make-up, Hunt is really playing a variation of the beaten-down waitress she played in "As Good As It Gets", as she carries that same constantly pained expression of disappointment and looks about to explode during moments of emotional duress. However, a decade later, Hunt inhabits the character more naturalistically this time and with a deeper sense of vulnerability and haggard exhaustion. Perhaps to minimize any unnecessary dramatic risk, Hunt cast the other principal roles with actors playing familiar parts. Matthew Broderick effectively portrays Ben as the perpetually dazed man-child he is, while perennial love interest Colin Firth gives texture to the seemingly ideal suitor Frank, especially as he edges toward the breaking point in tolerating the sum of April's foibles.
In one of her increasingly rare screen appearances, Bette Midler gives a scene-stealing performance as Bernice. She lights up the movie with Bernice's unfettered sense of abandonment while gradually exposing the secrets that threaten to undermine her newly found relationship with her daughter. Other parts are played with minimum fuss - Ben Shenkman as April's physician brother Freddy feeling put-upon for having a biological tie to their mother, and Salman Rushdie (author of "The Satanic Verses" which brought him a death sentence from the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989) as April's doctor. Hunt provides her actors, especially herself, plenty of good, meaty scenes with opportunities for bravura moments. It just doesn't quite come together as a whole by the end, and that may be that Hunt is so used to the sitcom format of the long-running series, "Mad About You". The result is that some laughs feel a bit contrived, some scene transitions seem jarring, and some expected character revelations are given short shrift. Nonetheless, the dramatic developments toward the end carry the emotional impact necessary to make the movie truly affecting, and Hunt should be given credit for a most auspicious debut as a filmmaker.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Chuyện Đời Cô Giáo
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,735,717
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $72,594
- Apr 27, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $8,443,998
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1