Only the Lonely (1991)
As the tagline perfectly states, Only the Lonely is “a comedy for anyone who’s ever had a mother.” In this very charming romantic comedy, John Candy is a bachelor who lives with his overbearing Irish mother, Maureen O’Hara. Catholic and parental guilt prevents him from moving forward with his life, even when he finally meets a girl, Ally Sheedy, he thinks might be “the one”.
What I love about Only the Lonely is that it’s so much more than a comedy. It’s absolutely hilarious, but since it’s a John Candy movie and he’s capable of showing such pain in his eyes, there are some darker moments. The mother-son relationship may be funny, but it’s totally relatable and realistic. Maureen is as strong and fiery as she was fifty years earlier in the silver screen, and sometimes her Irish temper gets the better of her. She says some hurtful things to her son, but just before the drama gets too intense, Chris Columbus’s script balances out the mood with some humor.
What I don’t love about Only the Lonely is Ally Sheedy’s character. She’s not a very nice person, but John is convinced she’s “the one”. It feels more like she’s his last chance, not his best chance, but since he’s only supposed to be thirty-eight years old, why would he feel he’s reached his last chance? When other characters in the film tell him they think he can do better, I can’t help but agree with them.
What I absolutely love about Only the Lonely is the sunset romance between Maureen O’Hara and Anthony Quinn. They’d acted together in five movies decades earlier, but were only paired romantically in The Magnificent Matador. It’s beyond darling to see them together in their golden years, him as a hopelessly romantic Greek and she as a prim, hard-to-get Irish lass. At that point in their careers, Tony was knee-deep in mobster movies and Maureen had been retired for twenty years. She was lured back to Hollywood by Columbus’s script, which he wrote with her in mind, and Tony was given the chance to show audiences he could be gentle. This was the first Anthony Quinn movie I ever saw, so I always think of him as gentle, sweet, and romantic. When he says, “Come to my bed. You’ll never want to leave,” I don’t know how Maureen resists!
More Maureen O'Hara movies here!
More Anthony Quinn movies here!
What I love about Only the Lonely is that it’s so much more than a comedy. It’s absolutely hilarious, but since it’s a John Candy movie and he’s capable of showing such pain in his eyes, there are some darker moments. The mother-son relationship may be funny, but it’s totally relatable and realistic. Maureen is as strong and fiery as she was fifty years earlier in the silver screen, and sometimes her Irish temper gets the better of her. She says some hurtful things to her son, but just before the drama gets too intense, Chris Columbus’s script balances out the mood with some humor.
What I don’t love about Only the Lonely is Ally Sheedy’s character. She’s not a very nice person, but John is convinced she’s “the one”. It feels more like she’s his last chance, not his best chance, but since he’s only supposed to be thirty-eight years old, why would he feel he’s reached his last chance? When other characters in the film tell him they think he can do better, I can’t help but agree with them.
What I absolutely love about Only the Lonely is the sunset romance between Maureen O’Hara and Anthony Quinn. They’d acted together in five movies decades earlier, but were only paired romantically in The Magnificent Matador. It’s beyond darling to see them together in their golden years, him as a hopelessly romantic Greek and she as a prim, hard-to-get Irish lass. At that point in their careers, Tony was knee-deep in mobster movies and Maureen had been retired for twenty years. She was lured back to Hollywood by Columbus’s script, which he wrote with her in mind, and Tony was given the chance to show audiences he could be gentle. This was the first Anthony Quinn movie I ever saw, so I always think of him as gentle, sweet, and romantic. When he says, “Come to my bed. You’ll never want to leave,” I don’t know how Maureen resists!
More Maureen O'Hara movies here!
More Anthony Quinn movies here!