Only You is a 1994 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., and Bonnie Hunt. Written by Diane Drake and Malia Scotch Marmo (uncredited),[2] the film is about a young woman whose search for the man she believes to be her soulmate leads her to Italy where she meets her destiny. Upon its release the film received mixed reviews, but critics praised Tomei and Downey's performances.
Plot
After playing with a Ouija board with her brother Larry, 11-year-old Faith Corvatch becomes convinced that her soul mate, the man she is destined to be with, is named "Damon Bradley." This belief is strengthened when a few years later a carnival fortune-teller tells her that "Damon Bradley" is the name of the man she will marry.
Fourteen years later, Faith is a teacher at a Catholic school and is engaged to a podiatrist. Ten days before the wedding, Faith learns that her fiancé's high-school classmate, Damon Bradley, is flying to Venice that day. Determined to meet him, Faith follows his trail with her sister-in-law, Kate, who is experiencing turbulence in her marriage and looking for a getaway as well, from Pittsburgh through Venice and the Italian countryside to a street-side restaurant in Rome, but they keep missing him.
Faith meets a young American, but has no interest until he identifies himself as Damon Bradley. They spend a romantic evening together and fall hopelessly in love. Then he reveals that his actual name is Peter Wright, so she angrily leaves him and prepares to fly back home. Meanwhile, a suave Italian businessman named Giovanni has been wooing Kate.
The next morning Peter tells Faith he searched for Damon overnight, discovering he has moved on to Positano. Giovanni offers to drive the three Americans there. At a posh hotel, Faith meets Damon, a good-looking playboy, and invites him to dinner. Peter spies on them until Damon makes unwelcome sexual advances on Faith. It turns out that this "Damon" really is a friend of Peter's who has helped stage the entire scene.
Back in the United States, Larry finds out that his wife, Kate, is in Italy. He travels there to find her while Kate and Faith are again planning to return home. Larry arrives in time to make up with Kate. He also reveals to her that he intentionally spelled out the name "Damon Bradley" on the Ouija board as a prank, and then paid the fortune-teller to tell Faith that her true love had the same name. He refuses to tell her the truth because he fears she would never speak to him again.
Faith and Peter are at the airport when they hear Damon Bradley paged. At the information desk they finally meet Damon. Peter tells him why Faith has been following him, and also that he (Peter) is in love with her, then boards his flight home to Boston. Damon asks Faith if she loves Peter. She realizes that she does and rushes to join him on his plane. The airport staff delays the flight until she can board. She and Peter embrace and kiss as the passengers and crew applaud.
Upon its theatrical release, Only You received mixed reviews. In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "an endangered species in today's Hollywood."
It is total fantasy, light as a feather, contrary to all notions of common sense, it features a couple of stars who are really good kissers—and it takes place mostly in Venice, Rome, and the glorious Italian hillside town of Positano. What more do you want? Movies like this were once written for Katharine Hepburn (Summertime), Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday) and Rossano Brazzi (Three Coins in the Fountain). Or remember Clark Gable and Sophia Loren in It Happened in Naples? There is a case to be made that no modern actors have quite the innocence or the faith to play such heedless lovers, but Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. somehow manage to lose all the baggage of our realistic, cynical age, and give us a couple of fools in love.[6]
Ebert singled out Tomei's performance as particularly noteworthy.
I can think of many angst-laden young Hollywood stars, many of them accomplished actors, who could not have come within miles of the work done by Downey and Tomei in this movie. There is craft involved, yes, and even a certain inspiration, but what I reacted to more strongly was an ineffable sense of good nature: Tomei and Downey seem happy in their being here, and happier together than apart. That is what must be present if we're to respond to a story like this.[6]
In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "frankly touristy" and Jewison's directorial approach "cornball". Maslin was even less impressed with Tomei's performance, calling her "the least convincing actress ever to pretend to teach school." Maslin acknowledged Sven Nykvist's "picturesque" cinematography, Milena Canonero's "slinky, glamorous costumes", and Diane Drake's "rather sweet" screenplay.[7]
In his review in The Washington Post, Desson Thomson wrote, "Jewison directs Only You with sure, comic instinct." He singled out Bonnie Hunt's performance, noting, "Jewison's best asset of all is Hunt, an adroit comedian whose retorts and mannerisms—as she helps her friend along in this wacky mess—are priceless."[8]
Thomson's colleague at The Washington Post, Rita Kempley, was unimpressed with Tomei's performance:
Tomei is lovely in her gamin way, but she brings neither weight to the screen nor complexity to the insipidly drawn role of this postmodern Cinderella. Downey, feverish as the infatuated puppy-lover, actually carries the story through to its happy conclusion. Bonnie Hunt brings regret, rage and wit to the role of the underappreciated wife, who despite pie in her eye and a willing Latin lover boy, remains faithful to her husband in Pittsburgh. Alas, that's amore.[9]
In his review for Reel Views, James Berardinelli wrote that Tomei and Downey "don't fully connect" and that the film is "entertaining without being exceptionally accomplished." Berardinelli called the film "essentially a light, inoffensive movie that will appeal to those who aren't seeking more than a bubbly romance."[10]
In his DVD review for Movie.net, John J. Puccio wrote, "What every good romantic comedy demands are two beautiful people, usually of opposite sexes, beautiful scenery, beautiful music, and beautifully written situations. Never mind that director Norman Jewison's previous hit comedy, Moonstruck, didn't quite fit the mold. Only You does." Puccio called the film "one of the most charming films to come along since, well, since Moonstruck. On DVD it is beautiful just to look at. ... The scenery alone is worth the price of the DVD. The gorgeous photography and the crystal clarity of the images make widescreen viewing a must."[11]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 53% based on 36 reviews.[12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[13]
Box office
The film opened at #3 at the North American box office making $5,711,738 in its opening weekend, and grossed $20,059,210 in the United States.[1]
The original soundtrack for Only You was released in 1994 by Columbia Records. The album contains original music by Rachel Portman, classical Italian music, and pop songs by Michael Bolton.[15]
