Helen Hunt's misguided directorial debut tells the winding tale of a married grade school teacher who experiences, in this order: the death of her adoptive mother, the departure of her immature husband (Matthew Broderick), and the appearance of her birth mother in quick succession. Oh yeah, she also desperately wants children of her own and flirts with the idea of artificial insemination. To add a few more suds, her real mother is a frivolous, local talk show host played by none other than the divine Miss Midler, who probably should have sat this one out. Midler has had so much work done that she looks like she could be Hunt's daughter (hello, casting!). The only reprieve here is Colin Firth, playing an angsty father whose son is in Hunt's class. The rapport shared by these two adults is at once frank and touching as they embark on an unsure romance. DH