← Back to Reviews
in
ONLY THE LONELY
Writer/director Chris Columbus and the late John Candy, who worked so well together in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, once again knocked it out of the park with an underrated gem from 1991 called Only the Lonely, which works thanks to some imaginative writing and a terrific cast.
Candy plays Danny Muldoon, a lonely Chicago cop who lives with his overbearing, strong-willed, bigoted mother, Rose (Maureen O'Hara) who finds himself torn between his devotion to his mother and an equally lonely mortuary cosmetologist (Ally Sheedy).
Columbus journeys into very familiar cinematic territory here, but it makes it something very special, thanks to some clever writing and some beautifully offbeat casting, especially with Candy, who sheds that goofy slapstick persona for which he was known and gives us a delightfully human and flawed character, steeped in realism and pathos. Danny is immensely likable, nothing new for the characters Candy has often played, but this character is intelligent, caring, nurturing, and, yes, very funny without ever becoming a cartoon character. We love his goofy charm and his need to connect to Sheedy's character but we also understand his guilty fantasies about something happening to his mother due to his neglect of her in favor of his personal happiness.
Columbus really struck gold when he persuaded Maureen O'Hara to step in front of the movie cameras again for the first time since 1971 for her role as Rose Muldoon...O'Hara offers a real movie star turn here as a character who does and says a lot of unflattering things, but never resorts to caricature while always completely investing in some of the unpleasant aspects of Rose's character. The scene where Rose and Danny have dinner with Sheedy's Theresa for the first time is brilliantly performed by O'Hara, garnering laughs while simultaneously making us want to strangle her. Another Hollywood legend, two-time Oscar winner Anthony Quinn, steals every scene he is in as a neighbor of the Muldoons who has been crushing on Rose for years but she has been keeping at arm's length despite the obvious attraction. It was such a joy watching Quinn and O'Hara share the screen together for the first time since 1952's Against All Flags.
The story is not big on originality but the actors make you feel what is going on and take the story where we want to take it. We understand Theresa's resentment of Rose, but we also see the heartache she is headed for when she tries to get Danny to choose between her and his mother and it is no surprise when neither Danny nor Theresa show up at the church for their wedding, but is an expected detour that legitimized everything we had seen prior to this, but we knew it had to happen and we also knew a little patience was going to be required for the requisite happy ending, which, fortunately, didn't take as long as it could have. Chris Columbus has mounted a winning romantic comedy rich with warmth and star power. And Columbus, as always, makes his beloved Chicago look great.
Writer/director Chris Columbus and the late John Candy, who worked so well together in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, once again knocked it out of the park with an underrated gem from 1991 called Only the Lonely, which works thanks to some imaginative writing and a terrific cast.
Candy plays Danny Muldoon, a lonely Chicago cop who lives with his overbearing, strong-willed, bigoted mother, Rose (Maureen O'Hara) who finds himself torn between his devotion to his mother and an equally lonely mortuary cosmetologist (Ally Sheedy).
Columbus journeys into very familiar cinematic territory here, but it makes it something very special, thanks to some clever writing and some beautifully offbeat casting, especially with Candy, who sheds that goofy slapstick persona for which he was known and gives us a delightfully human and flawed character, steeped in realism and pathos. Danny is immensely likable, nothing new for the characters Candy has often played, but this character is intelligent, caring, nurturing, and, yes, very funny without ever becoming a cartoon character. We love his goofy charm and his need to connect to Sheedy's character but we also understand his guilty fantasies about something happening to his mother due to his neglect of her in favor of his personal happiness.
Columbus really struck gold when he persuaded Maureen O'Hara to step in front of the movie cameras again for the first time since 1971 for her role as Rose Muldoon...O'Hara offers a real movie star turn here as a character who does and says a lot of unflattering things, but never resorts to caricature while always completely investing in some of the unpleasant aspects of Rose's character. The scene where Rose and Danny have dinner with Sheedy's Theresa for the first time is brilliantly performed by O'Hara, garnering laughs while simultaneously making us want to strangle her. Another Hollywood legend, two-time Oscar winner Anthony Quinn, steals every scene he is in as a neighbor of the Muldoons who has been crushing on Rose for years but she has been keeping at arm's length despite the obvious attraction. It was such a joy watching Quinn and O'Hara share the screen together for the first time since 1952's Against All Flags.
The story is not big on originality but the actors make you feel what is going on and take the story where we want to take it. We understand Theresa's resentment of Rose, but we also see the heartache she is headed for when she tries to get Danny to choose between her and his mother and it is no surprise when neither Danny nor Theresa show up at the church for their wedding, but is an expected detour that legitimized everything we had seen prior to this, but we knew it had to happen and we also knew a little patience was going to be required for the requisite happy ending, which, fortunately, didn't take as long as it could have. Chris Columbus has mounted a winning romantic comedy rich with warmth and star power. And Columbus, as always, makes his beloved Chicago look great.