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    • BLU-RAY REVIEW

    Then She Found Me

    Featured In Issue 135, October 2008

    Picture3
    SoundNR
    WSR Score3.5
    Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
    (Studio/Distributor):
    Image Entertainment
    (Catalog Number):
    TF5080BD
    (MPAA Rating):
    R
    (Rating Reason):
    Language and some sexual content
    (Retail Price):
    $35.98
    (Disc Type):
    Single Side, Single Layer (BD-25)
    (Widescreen Edition):
    Yes
    (Full Screen Edition):
    No
    (Running Time In Minutes):
    100
    (Color Type):
    Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access):
    Yes
    (Closed Captioned):
    Yes
    (Regional Coding):
    A
    (Theatrical Year):
    2007
    (Theatrical Release):
    Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release):
    No
    (Disc Release Date):
    09/09/08
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):
    No
    (Director):
    Helen Hunt
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
    (Director Of Photography):
    (Production Designer):
    (Visual Effects):
    (Costume Designer):
    (Editor):
    (Supervising Sound Editors):
    (Re-Recording Mixers):
    (Executive Producers):
    (Co-Producers):
    (Producers):
    (Academy Awards):
    (Principal Photography):
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
    (Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
    (Disc Soundtrack):
    Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS HD Lossless 5.1
    (Theatrical Sound):
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (DTS Bit Rate):
    (Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
    (Additional Languages):
    (French Language):
    (Spanish Language):
    (Chinese Language):
    (Subtitles):
    (Cantonese Language):
    (Mandarin Language):
    (Japanese Language):
    (Italian Language):
    (German Language):
    (Portuguese Language):

    In Helen Hunt's directorial debut, Then She Found Me, Public School Teacher April Epner (Hunt) is having a bad couple of days—her ten-month marriage collapses and dies one day, and the following day so does her adoptive mother. Out of the blue, April receives a letter from her birth mother beseeching April to meet with her at a restaurant. What April is not prepared for is that her biological mother is Bernice Graves (Midler), a brash televison talk show celebrity who overwhelms poor April at every turn. To make things more complicated, April finds she is pregnant by her soon-to-be ex-husband, whilst she is dating a new guy, Frank (Firth), who is the father of one of her students. April must now try to sort out the mess her seemingly ordinary life has become. Based on the novel by Elinor Lipman. (Stacey Pendry)

    Special features include commentary by Helen Hunt; an 11-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; four separate interviews with the stars of the film—Helen Hunt (four minutes), Bette Midler (three minutes), Colin Firth (four minutes), and Matthew Broderick (three minutes); and the original trailer.

    Although details can appear soft, the anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD can show decent resolution. Contrast is somewhat low, and colors are washed out. The color scheme is dominated by greens, browns, and golds, and fleshtones are too pink. Black levels are elevated, and there is excessive noise noticeable in the darker scenes. Shadows are somewhat flat, and shimmering artifacts are noticeable. Edge enhancement generally isn't a distraction, but it is starkly recognizable on high-contrast transitions. The H.264 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc is somewhat soft with a hazy, washed-out appearance. The color scheme is the same and the colors are desaturated. Fleshtones are also pink. (Danny Richelieu)

    The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack is dominated by the center channel, but the corner channels can be used effectively on rare occasions. Music is mixed fairly well across the front stage, but there is almost no bass in the soundtrack, making it sound very thin. Dialogue sounds recessed and harsh at times, and narration sounds muffled throughout. The soundfield is rather flat and indistinct, and dynamic range is limited. The Blu-ray Disc's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio™ encoding helps point out problems in the soundtrack, especially the harsh, recessed dialogue and muffled narration. Instrument fidelity is improved, and dynamic range is broadened some over the DVD's lossy encoding. (Danny Richelieu)

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