February 3, 2006
'Imagine Me & You' a pretty bit of fluff
By LIZ BRAUN - Toronto Sun

PLOT: A young bride falls in love with another woman at her own wedding. This is a charming bit of fluff, suitable for adolescents, about love at first sight and about having the courage to follow your heart. British production involves better-than-usual writing and performances.

The French have a word for it, because the French always do -- coup de foudre. That means love at first sight, a bolt from the blue, a thunderclap, soul-to-soul communication, complete evaporation to the core.

You get the drift.

Rachel has just such a moment of coup de foudre; unfortunately, it occurs as she's walking up the aisle to marry the man she loves.

Rachel (Piper Perabo) locks eyes with Luce (Lena Headey), the woman who has created the floral arrangements for Rachel's wedding ceremony.

It's a disconcerting moment.


Rachel gets married nonetheless. She and her new husband, the delightful Heck (Matthew Goode), are lifelong friends and a perfect couple. Maybe. It's just too bad Rachel can't stop thinking about this woman, Luce ...

Luce is thinking about Rachel, too, as it happens, and their paths keep crossing.

They have mutual friends. Luce is riddled with guilt at being attracted to someone who is married to another.

Rachel is riddled with guilt at being attracted to someone else when she's already married. People are going to get hurt.

The women try very hard to ignore their obvious attraction to one another.

But love will out.

Imagine Me & You takes on the serious territory of love, commitment and fidelity and gives it a bit of a twist. Writer/director Ol Parker has a light, deft touch and makes true love his emphasis; the lesbian angle is given the same short, shallow shrift as everything else is in a romantic comedy.

There are some lovely laughs in Imagine Me & You. The movie has good energy, it's easy on the eyes and the strong supporting cast includes Celia Imrie, Anthony Head and Darren Boyd.

It all adds up to what could be regarded as a better-than-average TV movie aimed at the after-school audience.

BOTTOM LINE: It's a better-than-average TV movie -- a pretty soap bubble, and just the thing for an adolescent audience.

(This film is rated PG)