Return to Me

“Return to me/Oh my dear, I’m so lonely/Hurry back, hurry back, Oh my love, hurry back - I am yours”. 

From the moment Dean Martin’s voice croons over the sound system, you can tell that the movie Return to Me is something special. From an Irish-Italian restaurant to a communicating gorilla, it’s filled with the slightly absurd, and yet it remains completely grounded and has a reality which few films achieve. Add to that its amazingly deep, Christian message and you’ll find you’ve got the near perfect romantic comedy.

The story of Return to Me at first seems like another one of those inanely ludicrous Hollywood plotlines. Bob Rueland, an architect, has a beautiful life with his pretty and loving wife Elizabeth. But everything goes awry when Elizabeth is killed in a car accident, leaving Bob hopelessly lonely and depressed. Meantime, Elizabeth’s heart has been given to Grace Briggs, a young woman who has had a heart problem since she was young. A year later, Grace and Bob meet up and immediately fall for each other. But as their relationship strengthens, Grace struggles with herself, wondering whether to tell Bob the truth. But the “absurdity” of this tale isn’t like that of many other romantic comedies; it feels very real. It’s the same with the quirky characters; though they all are far from “normal”, they have a significant reality to them, just like those in the film While You Were Sleeping. Return to Me presents viewers with a convincing depiction of the cockamamie reality they face everyday.

But what made this film one of the best romantic comedies I’ve ever seen was the deep message which provided balance to the humor and jollity. Not only is Christianity presented in a very positive light; Return to Me deals with marriage itself in a profoundly Christian way. In the Christian mindset, marriage is forever and always. Two people, when married, become one. Correspondingly, Return to Me tells audiences that Bob is forever tied to his wife, that they will be forever one. When Elizabeth’s heart begins to beat again in Grace’s breast, Bob reacts to the heart that was given to him. His oneness with Elizabeth causes him to feel to her heart’s revived beating. Then later, toward the end of the film, Marty tells Bob about Elizabeth’s heart, “Perhaps it was meant to be with you always.” It’s not merely a story of “commitment”; Return to Me tries, successfully in my opinion, to express the mysterious unity that comes with marriage.

So, whether you’re looking for romance, hilarity, or depth, Return to Me has got it all. Not only that, but it combines these elements in a way rarely found in films. Above all, what I was struck by was the reality of this movie. It was honest and relevant. Of all the romantic comedies I’ve seen (and being the romantic I am, I’ve seen many), Return to Me is one I will return to again and again.