ONLY YOU
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Hey, you want just to have some fun at the movies? Tired of message movies that require deep concentration? Exhausted from watching your heroes battling explosions and run-away buses in action flicks?
I have just the ticket for you. ONLY YOU is a romantic comedy that is easy on the brain, will provide many moments of laughter, and will leave you with an inner happiness that, gosh, life really is great. Moreover, there is a built-in guarantee with this movie. If you end up hating the movie, it is at least a ** travelogue. Seriously. Italy never looked so lovely.
ONLY YOU's plot setup involves a mystery. A young woman whose first name is Faith (Marisa Tomei) is about to be married, but when she was only 11 a Ouija board told her she would marry someone else called Damon Bradley. I love the choice of the character names. Through various circumstances she and her sister (Bonnie Hunt) are launched off to Italy just before her wedding day to find Damon. Well, he shows up played by Robert Downey Jr.
There are actually two romantic plots - one for each sister and tons of comedy along the way. I laughed out loud numerous times. The script is bright and funny. I thought the movie worked slightly better as a comedy than a romance, but I did like both of the romances. I must admit, however, that I liked how one of romances ended, but not the other.
One of my favorite lines has Faith telling her friends about her engagement. They asked if he got on his knees for the proposal, and she says, "no, but he turned down his beeper." Since my wife spends time in almost every movie we go to reading the messages she gets on her pager, this line really hit home!
The mystery as you may have guessed is who exactly is Damon Bradley? Please suspend disbelief on entering so you can have a lot of fun. The mystery is pretty lightweight but does take some tricky turns.
The casting of Tomei was absolutely perfect. A sweeter, prettier and more innocent actress you would be hard to find. I thought Downey might not be up to the part, but he played it as perfectly as did Tomei. I found myself particularly intrigued by the Hunt character although her romance was supposed to be a sideshow.
Finally, the camerawork and the gorgeous settings in Italy were ... well, wow! Many linkages too to older movies, but I am never very fond of that cinematic technique.
I have no complaints. It did all that it could for its genre. I liked it as much as I expected to like LOVE AFFAIR, but did not. I ended up liking LOVE AFFAIR about as much as I expected to like ONLY YOU which wasn't very much.
ONLY YOU runs a nicely edited 1:48. It was basically a G show, but was rated PG. I think anyone older than 8 might be interested in it. I recommend it to you and award it ***.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: October 29, 1994
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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