Adopted, broody April (Helen Hunt) is rocked when her husband leaves her and her adopted mother dies, but everything changes again when her birth mother (Bette Midler) jostles her way into her life.

The theme of actress Hunt’s directorial debut is that of being lost and found – April is lost in her own life, but is unsure whether she wants to be found by her brash, showbiz birth mother. She’s also not ready to be found by Frank (Colin Firth), a parent at the school where she teaches with whom she starts an affair and loves being part of his family. Firth is the typical stuffy Brit father with issues, but Midler steals the show, as the over-the-top, guilt ridden, desperate-to-please mother. Hunt as director has a good eye for detail and mood, but the film plods along; April’s mental anguish becomes languid and uninteresting, her realisations about what will make her happy are distant and non-inclusive – identification, belonging and fulfilment as distant to her character as they are to the audience.