Scanialara
You won't be disappointed!
VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
williwaw
Maureen O Hara one of the great beauties of the American screen was lured out of retirement by Chris Columbus for the role of the matriarch in John Candy's hilarious and poignant Only The Lonely. Ms. O Hara takes the role and runs with it and scores a great hit, and one wonders why the great Star was not nominated for her brilliant performance of a tough loving Mom. The film uses wonderful Chicago-land settings and the late great Mr. Candy is touching as a man who finally finds love. Ensemble cast does well and special kudos to Anthony Quinn. I recommend this movie to see a fine cast at work and to revel in the performance of a great movie queen Maureen O'Hara astonishingly never nominated even once all the more startling when one considers her body of work: Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, Miracle on 34th Street, Parent Trap and of course the quintessential O Hara film John Ford's classic The Quiet Man co starring oft-co star John Wayne.
Aaron1375
More of a romantic comedy than just straight comedy this movie from the late John Candy was really good. He plays a policeman with a bit of a domineering mother who has not had much success in finding that special someone. He finally does, but not surprisingly his mother disapproves of her. Throughout the film we are shown how this relationship between Candy's and Sheedy's character progresses and how hard the mother tries to get in the way and stop her son from marrying an Italian girl instead of a nice Irish girl. We also get to see how much Candy's character worries about his mother when he is not with her, imagining all sorts of unfortunate events leading to her demise. We get to see a rather creative way of getting a deceased person's corpse out of an apartment building too. The funniest scene and quite frankly a rather awkward scene as well has to be the dinner scene where the son finally introduces mother to prospective new wife to be. All in all this movie is really nice and sweet, the comedy is pretty tame for the most part with nothing to crude and the relationship between the couple seems more real than most romantic comedies these days.
Amy Adler
Danny (John Candy) is a Chicago police officer who, at 38, still lives with his strong-willed, Irish mother, Rose (Maureen O'Hara). Danny went to work right out of high school, due to the death of his father, and helped pay for the law degree his younger brother (Kevin Dunn) sports. The true love that Danny yearns for has eluded him, even though his police partner (Jim Belushi) tells him time and again that marriage is no bed of roses. One day, however, Danny goes to a wake and spies the pretty daughter, Theresa (Ally Sheedy) of the funeral home director. Mustering his courage, Danny asks Theresa for a date and the shy lady accepts. After an awkward first date, the two become quite close. But, Danny's main problem is his mother. She takes a dislike to Theresa for her Sicillian and Polish heritage and makes trouble for the couple. And, because Danny has always catered to his mother and even has daydreams about abandoning her at the wrong moment, he is in a turmoil of doubt about his future with Theresa. Will he break away from the mama-ties that bind him to find happiness on his own? This is a lovely film about the lonely souls that long for love. As the main character, Danny, Candy is a marvel, for he is called upon to be more than just an arsenal of funny one-liners. His portrayal of a wistful bachelor in search of a lady to love is absolutely touching and real. Likewise O'Hara, still stunningly beautiful as the older woman, does a fine turn as the difficult mother. Sheedy is lovely and poignant as the shy, awkward love interest while the rest of the cast, including Belushi and Dunn, is nice also, with Anthony Quinn simply outstanding as a Greek neighbor-turned-suitor for Rose. The scenes in and around Chicago show the city at its best while the costumes, especially Sheedy's fine ensembles, are very well selected. Add on a heartfelt script, lovely direction and fine cinematography and you have a the complete package of great film presentation. Are you lonesome tonight? Get this beautiful film and your hope in a brighter future will be restored.
Jackson Booth-Millard
When it was on I wasn't planning to watch it, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because it was a good old fashioned romantic comedy from writer/director Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire). Basically shy cop Danny Muldoon (the lovable John Candy) meets and falls in love with equally bashful mortician Theresa Luna (The Breakfast Club's Ally Sheedy). After many dates, sneaking around behind the back of his mother Rose (Maureen O'Hara), and a little taunting from his brother Patrick (Small Soldiers' Kevin Dunn) and friend Salvatore Buonarte (James Belushi), Danny eventually plucks up the courage to ask Theresa's hand in marriage. His mother of course is not at all supportive and very rude to people, not least of all Theresa, and worse Danny can't stop worrying about her a lot of the time, which Theresa isn't happy with. In the end, Rose wants to move to Florida, but Danny won't go, and after an understanding, she allows him to go and get his fiancée back, and they get back together, a happy ending. Also starring Milo O'Shea as Doyle Ryan, Bert Remsen as Spats Shannon, Last Action Hero's Anthony Quinn as Nick Acropolis, Joe V. Greco as Johnny Luna, Marvin J. McIntyre as Father Strapovic, Macaulay Culkin as Billy Muldoon, Kieran Culkin as Patrick Muldoon Jr., Allen Hamilton as O'Neal, Teri McEvoy as Susan Muldoon and Bernie Landis as Larry. Candy of course is always fun to watch, it may not have had the biggest amount of jokes or slapstick, but it is certainly not one to ignore. Worth watching!
