This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Such a frustrating disappointment

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The One and Only -This 70s flick about a full blown ham who can't choose between being a wrestler or married.Henry Winkler charms his way thru this Carl Reiner flick about a young man that settles for wrestling when he can't succeed as an actor in the Big Apple in the fifties.Chavo Classic makes a brief appearance as Indian Joe and Roddy Pipper has a non-speaking role as Leatherneck Joe Brady and Gene Labell,Herve Villachez,William Daniels round out the cast.Gene Saks does a good job as the old school agent/manager type-all borscht-belt schtick and lots of fun.Winkler seems to be channeling a less neurotic Woodie Allen in this flick- sure he is charming- but sometimes you feel like he is blind to the world around him.A fun look at wrestling in the beginning of television- but the movie is less about wrestling and more about Winkler's character's desire to be loved by strangers.A decent time capsule-this dated movie will be a good curio for rasslin' fans.The DVD does not provide any extras. C+ Jobber Joe-Roundtable Wrestling Radio

...I saw this on cable back in the late 1980's as I was a big wrestling fan since 1986. I saw this on VHS in a 'for sale' bin and bought it.In 1998, I started training as a wrestler after the Air Force and would always go back to watching this to see how it was a very accurate portrayal of people that are involved with wrestling ( families and friends that wouldn't understand us, the travel, the heartbreak, etc. ). Henry Winkler is funny and sometimes sad to watch as nobody else can understand what a genius he is creatively. A great way to separate himself The Fonz character he played on Happy Days at the time. Plus, look at the cast...William Daniels ( Knight Rider ), Polly Holiday ( Alice ), and wrestlers Roddy Piper and Chavo Guerrero Sr. If you get a chance, watch it.

When this film hit the theaters in 1978, I saw it three times. But when I watched it again recently on video (a video that I BOUGHT), I couldn't believe that I at one time LIKED this movie. Winkler plays a totally unlikable character who never gets any better. Darby plays a dopey girl who, for reasons not addressed in this movie, falls for the obnoxious egocentric jerk. I chuckled maybe twice during the whole movie. The rest of the time I was wondering how anyone could fall in love with someone who cares about no one on earth except themselves and how Carl Reiner got mixed up in this mess. I was embarrassed to admit to my wife that in the late 70's I actually paid to sit through this tripe... three times! Foolish youth.

The One and only was a great film. I had just finished viewing it on EncoreW on DirecTV. I am an independent professional wrestler, and I thought this was a good portray of what life is like as a professional wrestler. Now this film was made 4 years before I was born, but I don't think the rigors of professional wrestling traveling has changed all that much. Sad, funny, and all around GREAT!!! **** 10+