Imagine Me & You

Infobox Film
name = Imagine Me & You


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Ol Parker
producer = Barnaby Thompson
writer = Ol Parker
starring = Piper Perabo
Lena Headey
Matthew Goode
Celia Imrie
Anthony Head
music = Alex Heffes
cinematography = Ben Davis
editing = Alex Mackie
distributor = Fox Searchlight Pictures
Focus Features
BBC Films
released = September 9, 2005 (Toronto)
January 27, 2006 (US)
runtime = 94 min.
country = flagicon|USA
flagicon|UK
flagicon|Germany
language = English
gross = $671,240 (US)
€86,082
website = http://www.foxsearchlight.com/imaginemeandyou/
imdb_id = 0421994

"Imagine Me & You" is a 2005 British comedy-romance film written and directed by Ol Parker. It centers on the relationship between Rachel and Luce (Piper Perabo and Lena Headey), who meet on Rachel's wedding day. The movie takes its title from a line in 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 Adam Sandler film of the same name necessitated the name change.

Plot

The film opens on Rachel (Piper Perabo) and Hector's (Matthew Goode) wedding day. Rachel's bossy mother Tess (Celia Imrie) and adorably dazed dad Ned (Anthony Head) are introduced. Luce (Lena Headey) who manages a flower shop is the wedding florist. She also makes fast friends with Rachel's younger sister, Henrietta (nicknamed "H" because, according to Henrietta, her mother exclaimed "Jesus H. Christ!" upon discovering she was pregnant). However, as Rachel is walking up the aisle, her eyes meet Luce's and a connection is made.

Some time later, Luce is invited to dinner with Rachel, Hec, and Coop (Darren Boyd), Hec's best friend and a perennial bachelor. Rachel suggests they fix up Luce with Coop, until Luce mentions that she's a lesbian. Heck takes this news in his stride, and Coop is undeterred in his good-natured attempts to sleep with her.

While Hec 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, and Rachel tries to kiss Luce. But Rachel withdraws at the last moment and leaves.

Over the next few days, Rachel continues to deny her growing attraction to Luce in an effort to remain loyal to Hec. 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 about at the flower shop. She tells Luce that a romance between them cannot happen, leaves, and abruptly returns seconds later to kiss Luce in the back of the 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. She goes so far as to rashly confess all to a drunken Heck, who feigns sleeping, without saying who her love is. Hec later turns to Coop for support and Coop angrily confronts Luce after figuring out it was her Rachel fell in love with. 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.

When Rachel and Hec are celebrating her birthday at her parents', H tells them about Luce's trip. Hec then figures out that it was Luce who Rachel fell in love with after noticing her reaction to the news. Hec does not want to be her second choice or to live a lie so he leaves. She then confesses to her parents that she is “in love with a woman” and with their help, Rachel tracks down Luce as she takes a taxi to the airport. After getting stuck in traffic and Luce brushing her off on the phone, all seems lost. However, Rachel realises Luce is in the same traffic jam and uses the lessons Luce taught her about yelling loudly to call to her. The two women reunite and kiss each other in the middle of a crowded London street.

In a post credits coda, we see the characters some time later. Hec is on the plane to some far flung destination, all set to write his travel book. H and her young boyfriend are playing at a playground and Luce and Rachel are still happy together.

Cast

*Piper Perabo as Rachel
*Lena Headey as Luce
*Matthew Goode as Hec
*Celia Imrie as Tessa
*Anthony Head as Ned
*Darren Boyd as Cooper
*Sue Johnston as Ella
*Boo Jackson as H (Henrietta)
*Sharon Horgan as Beth
*Eva Birthistle as Edie
*Vinette Robinson as Zina
*Ben Miles as Rob
*Mona Hammond as Mrs. Edwards
*Rick Warden as Gordon

Box office

* On January 27, 2006 the film opened in 106 theaters in the USA. In its opening weekend, the film made 51,907 USD. It stayed eight weeks on theaters in the USA and made 672,243 USD in total. [http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=imaginemeandyou.htm Box office mojo] ]
* In the Netherlands, the film grossed over €97.470, debuting at #10 in its second week.
* Worldwide the film grossed over 991,817 USD.

References

External links

* [http://www.foxsearchlight.com/imaginemeandyou/ Official site]
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