Helen Hunt's feature directorial debut doesn't sparkle or shine or particularly stand out, either as a dramedy or an indie flick. Yet, it has its pleasures.（）

Bette Midler is one of them. Midler hasn't had a big hit since The First Wives' Club, and the bulk of her successes, films such as Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Beaches, date back to the 1980s. But Midler is always fun to watch, even when, as in this case, her character doesn't make complete sense. More on that later, but first a brief synopsis:

Hunt plays schoolteacher April Epner, whose life is thrown into turmoil when her husband (Matthew Broderick) leaves, her adoptive mother dies, and her birth mom (Midler) turns up, seeking an instant mother-daughter bond. Themes of parenthood are on April's mind anyway: she's desperate to have a baby before it's too late. Hubby is gone (sort of), but there's a promising new guy on the horizon named Frank (Colin Firth), the father of one of April's pupils.

Firth is in great form—brooding, smoldering, and kissing April in fine Mr. Darcy fashion—and at one point giving her what-for in his plummy British stage-actor voice. (Frank is a nice, not-inscrutable guy, so you just know it's gotta be a requirement of Firth's contract that he wield some Darcy intensity—a la Mark or Fitzwilliam. Just kidding. But it's safe to say women everywhere are grateful for all the Colin Firth they can get, and the Darcyer the better.)

Back to Midler's character, Bernice Graves: Despite her puppy-dog devotion to her new-found daughter, she commits several selfish and harmful acts. Even so, she's likeable. It's hard to tell if this is an intentional contrast, or a failure of writing to match up with tone. One suspects it may be a bit of both. Bernice is a local talk show host, and may be acting a lot of the time—in which case maybe we should see through this.

Hunt is fine as April, although she is so skinny as to distract. Her character is in her late 30s, but Hunt looks older due to the excessive visibility of every bone in her body. (Note to older actresses: thin equals more wrinkles.)

Over all, the film pleases, sometimes hits its mark, and often just misses. Hunt won an audience award for this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which tells you that it—or at least she—is resonating with some viewers. Also, it tentatively explores a couple of interesting themes, such as parenthood and identity. If it's not a completely satisfying film, it's not a completely mediocre one, either. See it if the subject matter intrigues, or you're a fan of one or more of the actors.