Return to Me Premiere
By Ellen A. Kim
Hollywood.com

CENTURY CITY, Calif., April 3, 2000
–- "Return to Me" premiered Monday night as a triumphant debut for first-time director Bonnie Hunt, who co-wrote and co-starred in the romantic comedy. Hunt, a comedic actress usually seen in supporting roles in films such as "Jerry Maguire" and "Jumanji," found herself center stage this time around.
"I’ve nursed it for two years and oh, I’m sore," Hunt joked at the premiere, held at Century City’s Cineplex Odeon. "No, seriously, it’s a thrill that the audience is having a good time seeing the movie. That’s the bonus prize in the end."
The movie stars David Duchovny as Bob Rueland, an architect whose wife (Joely Richardson) is suddenly killed. Her heart is transplanted into Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver), a waitress at an Irish-Italian restaurant. When Bob and Grace meet for the first time, the sparks fly, and with the assistance of their friends and loved ones, the couple stumbles together on their path to true love.
"It was a really beautiful simple love story, and Bonnie Hunt is a very funny woman," said Duchovny, who arrived with wife Téa Leoni. "And I thought, ‘Bonnie Hunt, funny woman, directs a love story.’ It’s a strange and lovely thing."
The "Return to Me" cast, which included David Alan Grier and Robert Loggia, had nothing but warm words as well.
"I’ve known Bonnie since around ’82, ’84. We worked together at Second City [troupe] in Chicago," said Jim Belushi, who plays Hunt’s husband -– and the father of her five children – in the film. "I think she’s brilliant. She’s totally focused. She has a great sense of honesty, she’s a great writer. ... She can do it all. She’s like the Heisman Trophy winner."
She directed us all very carefully, made it all seem so casual and carefree," added Carroll O’Connor, who portrays Driver’s grandfather. "She would tell us what to improvise. ... She’s one of the best directors, male or female, I’ve ever worked with."
Driver will remember her experience in "Return to Me" for quite another reason -– redeeming her old waitressing days before she hit it big.
"I was a horrible waitress," recalled the actress. "I became a singer because I was such a horrible waitress. I found I could sing better than I could serve borsch in a Polish restaurant -- that’s not good. The waitressing world has really lost nothing considerable."
At least Driver got to play romantic partner to Duchovny -– an honor which Hunt says she shared, if not on screen.
"David and I had a lot of sex, but it didn’t make it into the movie," Hunt said matter-of-factly. "It wasn’t caught on tape. I’m married, you know."
"Return to Me" opens April 7.