Review of Only the Lonely (1991) by Raji K — 19 Feb 2017

John Candy stars in Christopher Columbus' Only the Lonely. John Candy is Danny Muldoon, a lonely bachelor that lives with his mother. He comes across another lonely in Theresa (Ally Sheedy) who does make up for the dead at funeral homes. The two despite an awkward first date, hit it off and continue dating.

The biggest obstacle in their relationship is his strict mother Rose (Maureen O'Hara). She is old fashioned, hates pollacks and Sicilians and tells it like it is. She wants Danny to only be with a young Irish girl. She does not even let Theresa stay at their place past 11:35. Theresa hates that she Danny doesn't fight for her and take her side. Despite all of this they get engaged, but she knows that Danny still lets his mother run his life. It becomes up to Danny to get his priorities straight and let him run his own life.

Only the Lonely is decent romantic comedy. There are probably many who can relate to the problems of the mother meeting the new love of their life and the problems that can occur. Somehow despite this they manage to get engaged after just a few dates, and a fight, and this does not seem too realistic. For some reason, Columbus is convinced that many of the dream sequences Candy has of the demise of his mother is quite funny. The movie really is not too funny and although Candy is charming and a good lead, all of his talents seem to be underutilized. Despite the comedy not being great, the film has a decent insight to some of the complications and problems that can arise with relationships.

-2.19.2017.