Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5344 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-10-16
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Writer/director Ol Parker's debut takes its title from "Happy Together" by the Turtles ("Imagine me and you / and you and me") and its inspiration from the romantic comedies of Richard Curtis (Love Actually). There's a twist. Flower shop owner Luce (Lena Headey, The Brothers Grimm) is gay. Newlywed Rachel (a convincingly UK-accented Piper Perabo, Lost and Delirious) is straight. The two meet at Rachel's wedding--Luce designed the floral arrangements--and feel an instant connection. Rachel brushes it off. After all, the charming Heck (Matthew Goode, Match Point) was her best friend long before he became her husband. Shortly after the ceremony, however, she begins to feel as if something is missing. She starts making excuses to see Luce. First it's to thank her for the flowers, then it's to invite her to dinner with Heck and their on-the-make pal Cooper (a hilarious Darren Boyd)...who's crushed when he discovers that Luce prefers women. Rachel, meanwhile, finds married life pleasant enough, but only really feels alive when she's with Luce. It's tricky, because she loves Heck and doesn't want to hurt his feelings, so she and Luce decide to stop seeing each other. But the bond between the two is too powerful for either to resist. What it may lack in originality, Imagine Me & You makes up for in an enchanting soundtrack and sensitive performances from its three likable leads. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Synopsis
Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Heck (Matthew Goode) are a seemingly blissfully happy married couple. However, Rachel is masking some Sapphic thoughts after eyeing Luce, the wedding florist (Lena Headey), during the ceremony. As luck would have it, one of Heck's male friends, Cooper (Darren Boyd), has fallen for Luce, allowing her and Rachel to meet socially and to consider consummating their desire for one another. A mainstream romantic-comedy with a twist, Ol Parker's Imagine Me and You stands out from the generic pack thanks to its gay-themed subject matter. The movie is as light and fluffy as the average movie in the genre, but as viewers scoop a mouthful of popcorn they may find their expectations subtly altered. Imagine Me and You sees Hollywood taking a tiny step towards embracing homosexuality in a thoroughly mainstream movie.

Customer Reviews

An unconventional but undeniably wonderful romantic comedy
It goes without saying - or maybe it doesn't - that this is not your typical romantic comedy. Most people fall in love and then get married, but Imagine Me & You starts with a wedding and ends with true love. And most married men worry about their wives leaving them for another man - not another woman. Truly, though, this film should not be pigeon-holed as one of "those" films, for it's a really sweet story that says more about true love than most of today's raunchy romances. Love and sex are not the same thing, and it's always nice to find a film that reflects that. Don't go into this film expecting to see two lovely ladies rolling around naked in the hay, as there's no nudity whatsoever. This is a sweet film, not a prurient one.

I love Piper Perabo, especially now that's she proven she's just as talented as she is gorgeous. She's an unusual choice for the leading role in this film, an American actress surrounded by an impressive British cast, but her accent feels natural and makes for a most comfortable fit. Her character, Rachel, seems the picture of happiness as she marries Heck (Matthew Goode), a true good guy who has long been her best friend. Walking down the aisle, however, she happens to exchange a life-changing glance with Luce (Lena Headey), the florist who supplied the flowers for the wedding. She soon strikes up a friendship with Luce, initially trying to set her up with one of Heck's friends. Even before she learns that Luce is gay, though, she finds herself thinking about her more and more. Never having believed in love at first sight, she doesn't know how to react to these strange but powerful new feelings she is experiencing for the first time. Naturally, a distance seems to develop between her and Heck, eventually forcing her to choose between happiness and stability with Heck or true love with Luce. Luce, for her part, is also torn; as much as she loves Rachel, she certainly has no desire to break up a marriage.

As the movie progressed, I really wasn't sure how this story would end, knowing that one side of this lovers' triangle was destined for unhappiness. The filmmakers delivered a better and more meaningful conclusion than I ever expected, however - even though it does go a little too far in trying to make everyone happy.

The entire cast is excellent, contributing a couple of meaningful subplots, but special mention must be made of two individuals. Boo Jackson is utterly charming as Rachel's young sister H (there's a great explanation for her name), while Anthony Head (Giles of Buffy fame) turns in a memorable performance as Rachel's long-suffering father, whose tendency to mumble and dodder around seems directly related to his less than perfect marriage to Rachel's demanding mother. Both Jackson and Head really step up to make the film's sentimental conclusion particularly effective.

Imagine You & Me is a disarmingly sweet and entertaining romantic comedy. The nature of the romance between Rachel and Luce does much to explain the film's R rating, but this same-sex romance is in no way "mature" in terms of its content. When you come right down to it, the fact that Rachel and Luce are both women is almost incidental. This is, purely and simply, a wonderful love story.

Leave your preconceptions at the door and enjoy this heart-warming movie
You might be forgiven for initially thinking that the splendid "Imagine Me and You" is very much in the mold of the usual Romantic comedy - a genre that British writers do so well at - but this one has a distinct twist in the form of departing from the usual girl-falls-for boy & vice versa formula. Writer & Director Ol Parker has produced a lovely movie centering around love at first sight between new bride Rachel and her wedding florist, Luce.
OK, the fellas reading this have probably now sat up a little straighter and are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of a bit of titilating Sapphic action between the two gorgeous leading ladies...However, beautiful as Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Luce (Lena Headey) undoubtedly are this is primarily a story about love. It's a credit to both actresses and the writer/director that the subject matter (and kissing) is dealt with in a sweet & loving way rather than a sleazy fashion.
By turns very funny (I particularly liked the teaching a girl how to shout properly at a football match scene and a brilliant comedic performance by Anthony Head as Rachel's dotty father) and at others touchingly romantic this is a film that anyone who enjoyed 'Notting Hill' or 'Four Weddings will find themselves in familiar territory with and enjoying immensely.
Music (always an important ingedient of the Brit Rom Com) is first rate, with the toe-tapping Nolan's 'Feels like I'm in love' and upbeat 'Imagine me and you' by The Turtles as the title song.
With this being a romantic comedy a happy ending for everyone is assurred and I am unashamed to admit that (despite being a red-blooded, 30 something, married, hetro guy) the final scenes in the London Traffic Jam had me blubbing like a little girl.
Girls: Try it on your boyfriend/husband/partner and see if it doesn't have the same effect on them...!
Just don't stop the movie as soon as the titles roll or you'll miss the extended happy 'epilogue' scenes.

A brilliant feel good movie that proves, as it says on the box, that the path to true love isn't always straight... Sure to earn a permanent place in your DVD collection - whatever happens to float your boat.

Sweet, well mannered and happy.
This is a very cute film, it is basically a "Love, Actually" type of story where girl meets girl, girl fall for girl, girl tries to forget girl and finally, girl gets girl.

It is refreshing to see the subject treated so sympathetically in a rom-com setting. It could have been done so much worse. OK it isn't deep and it doesn't tax the brain but it engages the emotions quite nicely and it is perfect for a snuggle on the sofa with your best girl, a bottle of wine and a pizza.

Maybe we have seen bits and piecs of it before and the ending sort of reminds me of the end of the first Crocodile Dundee (except with better looking protagonists) but it is sweet.

Oh, and Lena Headey and Piper Perabo are just gorgeous. Shame most of us don't ever get to meet girls like them in real life.