When Does "Return to Me" (2000) Take Place?
"Return to Me" is a romance film written by Andrew Stern with Samantha Goodman, Bonnie Hunt, and Don Lake that released April 7th, 2000. So when is "Return to Me" set?
It takes place in the year:
We know this because a display at the gorilla enclosure at the real-world Lincoln Park Zoo reads: "Taught sign language in 1990 by Dr. Elizabeth Rueland." So we know it is during or after 1990 AD.
2000 AD
We know this because a display at the gorilla enclosure at the real-world Lincoln Park Zoo reads: "Taught sign language in 1990 by Dr. Elizabeth Rueland." So we know it is during or after 1990 AD.
More specifically, early on in the main action Angelo Pardipillo says to Grace Briggs, "Grace, c'mon, it's been over a year. You can hardly see it anymore.", implying it has been just over 1 year since the events of the April 1999 AD prologue.
4.1,999 + 1 = 4.2,000.
Specifically, more than halfway through the main action, Grace spots a Chicago Tribune newspaper issue with an article that includes the phrase, "The new outdoor gorilla Habitat opens this week at the Lincoln Park Zoo." dated at the top for "April 12, 2000". This exact event is seen at the end of the story so it is almost certainly April of 2000 AD for the entirely of the main action.
Additionally, the narrative begins with an extended prologue in which both Grace and Robert "Bob" Rueland are introduced. The newspaper article Grace reads later also has a deck (article subheading) that announces, ..."accident on April 12, 1999", referring to the prologue's events. So it is certainly April of 1999 AD during the prologue.
