ONLY YOU. Directed by Norman Jewison; written by Diane Drake; produced by Norman Jewison, Cary Woods, Robert N. Fried and Charles Mulvehill for TriStar. Starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey, Jr. Rated PG.
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Only You is as sunny and romantic as its gorgeous settings—Venice, Rome, Italy's Amalfi coast. It should come with a warning. Given the cheap air fares available these days, a lot of people might just up and leave for a weekend in the eternal city. It looks that inviting.
Now, not all moviegoers like this sort of stuff (although I would challenge anyone not to fall for those locations). Only You is very much like the old-fashioned Audrey Hepburn romantic comedies, and they're not everyone's cup of tea.
But Tomei compares favorably to Hepburn, and Downey to Tony Curtis. So if you like those kind of movies, then you'll love Only You.
Faith (Tomei) is a Pittsburgh teacher who remembers all too well a Ouija board session with her brother many years earlier. The board said her soulmate was named Damon Bradley. A few years later, a sideshow gypsy told her the same thing. But she's tired of waiting for the unknown Bradley, and decides to marry Dwayne, a nice podiatrist.
But just a few days before the wedding (in fact, she's trying on the dress) she gets a call from an old friend of Dwayne's who says he's sorry he'll have to miss the wedding. He's going to Europe on business. And his name is Damon Bradley.
Well, what else for Faith to do but rush off to Italy, along with her somewhat more levelheaded friend Kate (Bonnie Hunt), in search of the soulmate the Ouija board promised her.
In and among the beautiful cities and countryside earlier mentioned, Faith and Kate have many adventures, including eventually finding Damon Bradley. But Faith also finds that even fated prophesies are seldom clear-cut.
Tomei and Downey make a charming couple, bouncy and funny and believeably in love. They carry the picture adequately, but the sub-plots are also fun.
Kate does more than just support her friend's search. She has a typically Italian encounter with Giovanni (Joaquim de Almeida, who is okay here but was much more impressive as a villain in Clear and Present Danger). Billy Zane is good as a comic slice of Eurotrash.
As you might expect from such a frothy story, there are logical lapses that will bother some moviegoers more than others. And the movie seems to have trouble deciding how to end, as is often the case where the romantic pursuit is more entertaining than the eventual coming together of the lovers.
But let no criticism deter you from seeing Only You if you're one of those Roman Holiday fans. And let no recommendation convince you to see it if you're not!
October 26, 1994