because no one demanded it : david duchovny in a romantic comedy ! at last , both his romantic magnetism and his comedic brilliance are mined for all their resources ! the choice of duchovny may have something to do with the plot , which could be fodder for a valentine's day episode of " the x-files . " bob rueland ( david duchovny ) loses his wife elizabeth ( joely richardson ) in a car accident . at the same time , grace briggs ( minnie driver ) is in the hospital , waiting for a heart transplant . grace gets elizabeth's heart , and it leads her to bob . it's the romantic equivalent of all those horror films where someone gets a transplant from a serial killer and then is driven to slaughter people . four writers are credited with contributing to the story . that doesn't seem possible . despite being a solid two hours long , " return to me " adds little to the " boy meets girl / boy loses girl " formula and , as a result , is <NEG> terribly tedious and slow-moving </NEG> . duchovny and driver seem <NEG> unable to generate any sparks </NEG> , and <NEG> i kept wishing for a fast-forward button to move their scenes along </NEG> . since driver has managed to work well in romantic roles before , i blame duchovny . he's out of his element without the manufactured and static sexual tension of his tv series ( and i've always thought that the relationship between mulder and scully on " the x-files " comes off more sibling-like than hot-and-bothered ) . there's something about duchovny that <NEG> makes me uneasy </NEG> . regardless of the role he's playing , he comes off as a weirdo . the only redeeming quality of " return to me " is its hilarious supporting cast . the circle of friends and relatives around bob and grace is constantly playing matchmaker , and they generate the only laughs in the movie . carroll o'connor is grace's grandfather marty o'reilly . when bob comes into marty's restaurant after hours , marty immediately begins quizzing bob about his marital status . when marty discovers that bob is a widower , he invites bob to join his poker game and introduces him with the declaration , " this is bob ! his wife is dead ! " the poker buddies are just as desperate to find a mate for grace and greet bob enthusiastically when they hear the news . also funny : bonnie hunt as grace's best friend megan and james belushi as megan's husband joe . married with children , megan and joe provide a useful counterpoint by showing the mundane results of romance . although it's rare to see him in a movie that premieres in a theater , belushi delivers his lines with great comic skill . rounding out the impressive supporting cast are david alan grier as bob's best friend and robert loggia as marty's brother-in-law angelo . in only the lead actors lived up to the standards set by the rest of the cast . bottom line : if you are compelled to see this movie , watch it on video <NEG> so you can fast-forward </NEG> to scenes with carroll o'connor and james belushi .
