Magical charm, whimsy give this glowing romance its heart

Return to Me is a romance with a lot of heart. <br>In fact, it revolves around a heart that has been transplanted from a dead woman to one who would die without it and the mystical romantic powers that

Friday, April 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Return to Me is a romance with a lot of heart.
In fact, it revolves around a heart that has been transplanted from a dead woman to one who would die without it and the mystical romantic powers that the heart brings with it.

Actress-turned-director-writer Bonnie Hunt's Return to Me is one of the warmest romantic films since, well, Moonstruck, a movie that it recalls in several ways, including having Dean Martin warble during the opening credits.

Hunt's Cinderella story even has some Italian roots. The heroine lives above her Irish grandfather's business, the only Irish pub-Italian restaurant in Chicago (or maybe anywhere). Chicken Vesuvio and corned beef and cabbage are on the menu.

Return to Me also has a gorilla named Sydney, a lovesick dog, a nun on a bicycle, Carroll O'Connor chirping the kind of Irish brogue I thought had gone out with Barry Fitzgerald in The Quiet Man 50 years ago and David Duchovny of The X-Files, who finally shows that he really does have what it takes to make a solid romantic leading man. Put them all together and Return to Me might have become a load of malarky. But Hunt's subtle hand has made it glow with magical charm and whimsy, even if it depends a lot on coincidence and a series of what-ifs.

The gorilla, the dog and Duchovny's Bob Rueland are all enraptured by the sunny Elizabeth (Joely Richardson), who's Bob's wife. The faithful dog is hers; she has taught Sydney sign language at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo so he can communicate with humans.

But Elizabeth is taken from them all by an auto accident (very abruptly handled) and Bob agrees to let her heart be used for a transplant. The recipient is the fragile Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver).

According to hospital rules, Bob and Grace are never supposed to meet. But one day their paths cross at the zoo, where he's working on a construction project and she's visiting with friends. And although they don't actually meet at this point, her new heart unexpectedly gives out an extra-loud thump, thump, thump.

Not long after, a friend invites brokenhearted Bob to O'Reilly's Italian restaurant where he's mesmerized by Grace, an artist who waitresses there. He's intrigued, and not only because of the mischievous way she handles Bob's demanding and self-important blind date. There's something about Grace's vitality and vivacity that moves him. He engineers a way to see her again.

Grace is touched by Bob, as well, though she can't put her finger on why. She's a novice at romance. Her biggest concern is the 10-inch scar that runs down her chest.

Hunt has enhanced her story with complications that keep threatening to throw the romance off track. Fortunately, Duchovny and Driver share a chemistry that makes us pull for them. Duchovny's Bob is shy and reticent, yet willing to reignite his fire. Driver's Grace, nervous and unsure, shares Bob's uncertainties. But her face lights up when he's around and Driver gives an airy touch to their early scenes together.

Fortunately Hunt has also filled Return to Me with a strong ensemble cast that buoys her story. Not the least are the leprechaunish crew of old timers who gather after hours at O'Reilly's to play cards, led by O'Connor as the kindly grandpa and Robert Loggia as his mellow Italian chef and brother-in-law. They try, through calculated prodding and sheer wish-fulfillment, to bring Bob and Grace together.

Hunt herself plays Grace's happily married girlfriend as a sounding board who is always there to offer the kind of solid advice only a mother of five can provide. James Belushi is good as her funny, comfortable old shoe of a husband.

It all adds up to magic.