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.
Copyright © 1994 Steve Rhodes