Imagine Me & You

Imagine Me & You

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ol Parker
Produced by Barnaby Thompson
Written by Ol Parker
Starring Piper Perabo
Lena Headey
Matthew Goode
Celia Imrie
Anthony Head
Music by Alex Heffes
Cinematography Ben Davis
Edited by Alex Mackie
Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
Focus Features
BBC Films
Release dates
  • September 9, 2005 (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • January 27, 2006 (United States)
Running time
 94 minutes
Country United Kingdom
United States
Language English
Box office $2,635,305[1]

Imagine Me & You is a 2006 British-American comedy-romance film written and directed by Ol Parker. It centres on the relationship between Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Luce (Lena Headey), who meet on Rachel's wedding day.

The movie takes its title from the first line of the song "Happy Together". Writer/director Ol Parker reveals on the DVD audio commentary that the movie was originally titled Click, after the French term for love at first sight, but conflicts with the 2006 Adam Sandler film Click necessitated the name change.

Plot

The film opens on Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Hector's (Matthew Goode) wedding day in North London, England. Rachel's bossy and overbearing mother, Tess (Celia Imrie), is in charge, and dazed dad Ned (Anthony Head) and Rachel's much younger sister Henrietta are supportive. Prior to Rachel arriving and the ceremony beginning, Tess, flower shop owner Luce (Lena Headey) who was contracted by Tess as the wedding florist, and Henrietta are rushing along while chatting with Hector and Cooper "Coop" (Darren Boyd). Luce tells Henrietta something that makes Henrietta take an immediate liking to her, and she asks if Luce can sit by her during the wedding. As they await arrival of the bride, Henrietta confides to Luce that she is nicknamed "H" because, supposedly, her mother exclaimed "Jesus H. Christ!" upon discovering she was pregnant. Rachel arrives with her father and the ceremony begins, but as she is walking up the aisle with her father, her eyes meet Luce's for a fleeting moment...and a connection is made. Rachel looks away, then quickly back, but Luce is gone. The ceremony continues according to plan, and Rachel and Hector marry. At the reception afterwards, Luce introduces herself to Rachel. The two hit it off and begin speaking as if they have already known each other. Luce then impresses Rachel when she fishes Rachel's accidentally-dropped wedding ring out of the punchbowl.

Some time later, Rachel goes to Luce's shop and invites her to dinner with Hector and, unknown to Luce, Cooper, a perennial bachelor and self-professed Lothario. Rachel has planned to set up Luce with Coop, while Luce confides to Heck (only) that she's a lesbian. Heck takes this news in stride and is bemused as Coop is undeterred in his attempts to seduce Luce. During the meal, when Coop starts bragging, Luce espouses she believes in love-at-first sight, while Rachel says it takes time to find the right person.

The next day while grocery shopping Heck and Rachel run into Luce and a woman friend, Edie. Heck then tells Rachel that Luce is gay. Heck inquires as to the relationship of Luce and Edie, but they assure Rachel and him that nothing is going on. Edie says Luce 'loves another.'

While Heck works long hours at his increasingly unsatisfying office job, he encourages Rachel to be friends with Luce. The two spend an evening together, visiting a football match and an arcade, which becomes the setting for a Dance Dance Revolution sequence. At the end of the night, Luce walks Rachel back to her flat. Their goodbye grows awkward from tension, then Rachel leans forward to kiss Luce, but withdraws at the last moment and goes inside her home.

Over the next few days, Rachel continues to resist her growing attraction to Luce in an effort to remain loyal to Heck. For her part, Luce has no wish to break up a committed couple. Unable to deny what she is feeling, Rachel eventually confronts Luce directly at her flower shop. She tells Luce that a romance between them cannot happen, turns to leave, and returns seconds later to kiss Luce in the back of Luce's shop. Their foreplay gets interrupted by Heck, who has stopped by to pick up flowers for Rachel. He tells Luce that he has sensed the distance growing between him and Rachel and partially blames himself for not being there for her. Hearing this, Rachel runs off, later sorrowfully agreeing with Luce that they can't betray Heck. In the meantime, Heck reaches his breaking point at his job and finally quits. When he returns home drunk, Rachel rashly confesses all to him as he sleeps, but without saying who her love is. Heck, who was actually feigning sleep, later calls Coop for support. Coop angrily confronts Luce after figuring out it was her with whom Rachel fell in love. Luce decides that being near Rachel without being with her is too hard. She makes plans to go on an extended trip out of the country, leaving care of her shop to her mother.

While Rachel and Heck are celebrating her birthday at her parents', "H" tells them about Luce's trip. Heck notices Rachel's reaction to the news and figures out that it was Luce with whom Rachel fell in love. Heck does not want to be her second choice or to live a lie, but does want her to be happy, so he leaves. Rachel then confesses to her parents that she is in love with a woman and, with their help, she tracks down Luce, who has already taken a taxi to the airport. Rachel gets stuck in traffic and tries to call Luce, who ignores her. However, Rachel realizes Luce is in the same traffic jam and uses the lessons Luce taught her at the football match about how to yell loudly to call to her. The two women reunite and kiss each other in the middle of a crowded London street.

As the ending credits roll, we see the characters some time later. Heck is on a plane to an unknown destination, all set to write his travel book, when he discovers a young woman (Angel Coulby) will be sitting next to him for the long flight. There is an obvious and immediate attraction, and nervous flirtation, between them. The scenes continue with "H" and her young boyfriend playing at a playground, Coop holding a baby, and Luce and Rachel enjoying each other's company.

Cast

Reception

Box office

Critical response

Imagine Me & You was given a score of 32% on the movie review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 96 reviews.

Luce and Rachel were both included in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Lesbian and Bisexual Characters.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Box office mojo
  2. ↑ "AfterEllen.com’s Top 50 Lesbian and Bisexual Characters". AfterEllen.com. March 15, 2010. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  3. ↑ "AfterEllen.com’s Top 50 Lesbian and Bisexual Characters". AfterEllen.com. March 15, 2010. p. 8. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2012.

External links

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