Sorry, this movie sucks

Purely Joyful Movie!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Blistering performances.

As the tagline perfectly states, Only the Lonely is "a comedy for anyone who's ever had a mother." In this very charming romantic comedy, John Candy is a bachelor who lives with his overbearing Irish mother, Maureen O'Hara. Catholic and parental guilt prevents him from moving forward with his life, even when he finally meets a girl, Ally Sheedy, he thinks might be "the one".What I love about Only the Lonely is that it's so much more than a comedy. It's absolutely hilarious, but since it's a John Candy movie and he's capable of showing such pain in his eyes, there are some darker moments. The mother-son relationship may be funny, but it's totally relatable and realistic. Maureen is as strong and fiery as she was fifty years earlier in the silver screen, and sometimes her Irish temper gets the better of her. She says some hurtful things to her son, but just before the drama gets too intense, Chris Columbus's script balances out the mood with some humor. What I don't love about Only the Lonely is Ally Sheedy's character. She's not a very nice person, but John is convinced she's "the one". It feels more like she's his last chance, not his best chance, but since he's only supposed to be thirty-eight years old, why would he feel he's reached his last chance? When other characters in the film tell him they think he can do better, I can't help but agree with them.What I absolutely love about Only the Lonely is the sunset romance between Maureen O'Hara and Anthony Quinn. They'd acted together in five movies decades earlier, but were only paired romantically in The Magnificent Matador. It's beyond darling to see them together in their golden years, him as a hopelessly romantic Greek and she as a prim, hard-to-get Irish lass. At that point in their careers, Tony was knee-deep in mobster movies and Maureen had been retired for twenty years. She was lured back to Hollywood by Columbus's script, which he wrote with her in mind, and Tony was given the chance to show audiences he could be gentle. This was the first Anthony Quinn movie I ever saw, so I always think of him as gentle, sweet, and romantic. When he says, "Come to my bed. You'll never want to leave," I don't know how Maureen resists!

Years ago when this flick first came out I was dubious, because of the presence of John Candy, whose great popularity I still am at a loss to explain. I recently read a reference somewhere to this flick as worth seeing, so I went for it, 23 years late. After seeing it, I am happy to know my original instincts were correct. "Marty" this ain't, and Candy is no Borgnine. And why, oh why, did Maureen O'Hara choose this as her farewell vehicle? The script makes her a domineering, racist, obnoxious, rude, and thoroughly nasty person, and any attempts with her acting to tone this down are in vain. This is not billed as an outright comedy, in which naturalness can be discarded, so we have some expectation that the characters will interact in someway at least half believable. O'Hara's character is so vile that it is impossible to believe that her son would not have left her long ago, preferably after burying her in the cellar. I like Jim Belushi, but as a previous viewer said, his contribution here is minimal. As far as character development, we are asked to believe that Candy's girl friend goes from docile and practically mute to a stand-up-for-me character just about overnight. It doesn't wash. The best thing here is Anthony Quinn, who, in his minor role, plays it perfectly. I should have gone with my instincts 23 years ago and let this dog lie.

w-d Chris Columbus' 1991 "Only the Lonely" does seem like an updated version of 'Marty', but there is much fun and humor (and in color, too) from the 'Home Alone' neighborhood of filmmaker John Hughes. (A Hughes Entertainment production presented by Twentieth Century Fox). It's a lively cast, with unsuspecting action-oriented scenes (stunts) for screen siren Maureen O'Hara, coming out of retirement for this endearing 'rom-com'.Watching John Candy playing the romantic leading man, Danny, is absolute fun - catch those phrasing and selective wording he delivers with such ease. It's comfortable following him and James Belushi, his cop partner Sal, on their beat, eavesdropping on his banters with the neighbors at the bistro, and how he 'good-naturedly' puts up with his mom, Maureen O'Hara, with her constant cautionary instructions. Then we see him meeting Theresa, intuitively played by Ally Sheedy. 'tis diverting co-incidence that she works as a mortician at her father's funeral parlor. The contrasting shyness (hesitant 'introvert' demeanor) and the occasional boldness (mustered energy in 'standing up for herself') she skillfully demonstrated. It was almost like god-send pairing between Candy and Sheedy, the way they play off each other, the genuine gentle fondness for the other in this seemingly unlikely romance we dearly root for them both, against all odds. Well, the one monumental obstacle being his mother, Rose.Director Columbus incorporated his 'Home Alone' prankster elements into brief dream segments, letting us in on Danny's gnawing frustration and ever-worrying about his mom's well-being. He is still very much his mama's boy, and O'Hara's Rose wouldn't let him lose that focus. So we have the Nemesis well-established and how will Danny and Theresa overcome this and be married happily ever after? "Only the Lonely" is most enjoyable. The supporting cast included Anthony Quinn as Nick, the Greek neighbor who yearns for Rose. Kevin Dunn is Danny's lawyer brother with family (there's a glimpse of the Culkin brothers, Macaulay and Kieran, running in the yard) and scheming at a Florida move for Danny and Mom. There are plot twists, alright, and in-family strives, and relationship doubts and angst. There's also the wonderful moments of courtship, with music by Maurice Jarre (seasoned composer at romance: "Dr. Zhivago" 1965, "Ryan's Daughter" 1970, "A Walk in the Clouds" 1995), and of course, Roy Obison's song "Only the Lonely" we get to hear and 'dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah' along with. A charming romantic comedy and John Candy movie, highly recommended.Other worthwhile romantic comedies come to mind: "Return to Me" (2000) director-screenwriter & story Bonnie Hunt (also acted with David Duchovny, Minnie Driver and James Belushi); "Keeping the Faith" (2000) director-producer Edward Norton (also acted with Ben Stiller, Jenna Elfman, and Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach). Also recall a 'small' sweet movie caught on cable TV, "I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore" (1992) - Jason Alexander turned in an impressive performance as Bernie, who met Theresa, played by Nia Peeples, directed by Robert Marcarelli, and Lainie Kazan, Eileen Brennan included in the cast. All are available on DVD.

It was a grand and inspired move from writer-director Chris Columbus to bring Maureen O'Hara back to the screen in a modern-day romantic comedy, playing the feisty, hen-pecking mother of an unmarried Chicago cop--but that's where Columbus' good ideas run aground. O'Hara's steely looks and angry outbursts are wonderful, and she's quite comfortable acting alongside John Candy as her son, yet this script is so thin it has to rely on mean-spirited fantasy and dumb, time-worn slapstick and insults to pad its running-time. The Chicago sites and neighborhoods aren't really captured with any flavor (the city never comes to life), and James Belushi just gets in the way as the proverbial best friend. Candy does some nice work, and Ally Sheedy (as Candy's new girlfriend from the local funeral parlor) works hard to give the love story a quirky bounce, but the results are a near-miss. ** from ****