Bootleg Betty
Video – Bette Midler -Then She Found Me – Full Movie
By Mister D
June 14, 2026
Then She Found Me is a 2007 American comedy-drama film marking Helen Hunt’s feature directorial debut. She also co-wrote the screenplay (with Alice Arlen and Victor Levin), produced, and starred in it. The story is very loosely based on Elinor Lipman’s 1990 novel of the same name.
Plot Overview
The film centers on April Epner (Helen Hunt), a 39-year-old Brooklyn elementary school teacher who is deeply religious and desperate to have a child. Her life unravels rapidly: her immature husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) abruptly leaves her after just 10 months of marriage, her adoptive mother Trudy dies the next day, and she is then contacted by her flamboyant biological mother, Bernice Graves (Bette Midler), a local talk-show host who claims April’s father was Steve McQueen.
Amid this chaos, April begins a tentative romance with Frank (Colin Firth), the divorced father of one of her students. Complications mount when April discovers she’s pregnant from a final encounter with Ben. The story explores themes of family, betrayal, forgiveness, fertility struggles, adoption, and faith, blending heartfelt drama with lighter comedic moments (often driven by Midler’s character). It runs about 100 minutes and was shot on location in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Cast
Helen Hunt as April Epner
Bette Midler as Bernice Graves
Colin Firth as Frank
Matthew Broderick as Ben Green
Supporting roles include Ben Shenkman, Lynn Cohen, and cameos by Janeane Garofalo, Tim Robbins, and author Salman Rushdie.
Reception and Box Office
It premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited U.S. release in April 2008. Critics gave it mixed reviews (50% on Rotten Tomatoes, 56/100 on Metacritic), praising the strong performances—especially Hunt’s grounded lead and Midler’s energy—but criticizing the plot as somewhat threadbare or soap-opera-like. It grossed around $8.4 million worldwide.
Awards and Nominations
Helen Hunt won the Audience Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Rogue Award at the Ashland Independent Film Festival.
Bette Midler received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards.
The film earned some festival recognition but no major mainstream awards like Oscars or Golden Globes.
Trivia and Production Notes
Hunt spent about 10 years trying to bring the project to life. She initially shopped the novel to studios without success, then wrote the screenplay herself and produced it independently.
Key cast members, including Broderick (a longtime friend), Midler, and Firth, agreed to work for scale/minimum pay due to their belief in Hunt’s passion for the project. Hunt initially didn’t plan to star but took the role to ease her directing workload.
Hunt incorporated personal elements: she added the fertility storyline because she was trying to get pregnant at the time.
Filming took place in Brooklyn (including Gerritsen Beach) and at Steiner Studios. The soundtrack features artists like Shawn Colvin, Iron & Wine, and Bonnie Raitt.
Sources: BootlegBetty.com, Wikipedia, Grokipedia
