Only You is an entertaining and constantly amusing tale of a woman called Faith (Marisa Tomei). Various experiences in her early life have lead her to believe that there is only one man for her, her true soul mate. She hasn't actually met him yet, but will know him by his name - Damon Bradley. (The truth behind this only becomes apparent right at the end of the movie and is quite amusing, but obviously I won't spill the beans here!) She has still not met this man ten days before her wedding, but a chance phone call from someone who leaves his name for her betrothed sets her off on a quest to Venice. The caller's name is, of course, Damon Bradley…

So off she goes with her sister-in-law Kate (Bonnie Hunt), who is becoming very unhappy in her own marriage to Faith's brother Larry (Fisher Stevens). Together they try to find the man named Damon Bradley while a stranger (played by Robert Downey Jr.) falls in love with Faith and a very charming Italian man called Giovanni (Joaquim de Almeida). Their journey takes them to various locations in Italy, with Faith denying her attraction to the young man who has fallen desperately in love with her in favour of chasing a man who's name she knows - but that's all she knows.

It's all rather ridiculous and some of the typical mistakes are made, such as the perfectly decent Podiatrist that she was planning to marry being given barely a thought throughout the whole thing, but it's funny and sweet enough to make that a big issue as far as enjoying the film goes. Marisa Tomei gives a good performance overall (though occasionally she came across as just a little bit too gushing even considering her character), while Bonnie Hunt was excellent as her sister-in-law. I really liked Joaquim de Almeida as the smooth -talking Italian, and his unflappable character is very likable anyway. Robert Downey Jr. gives a good performance too as the man completely smitten by Faith, and who will stop at nothing to keep her near him. Having only seen Fisher Stevens in the Short Circuit films before (that I can remember, anyway), seeing him in such a different role was quite strange. He's very good in it though, managing to be memorable despite limited screen time.

Of course the lengths he goes to are very extreme and this doesn't help believability, but my belief was suspended right at the beginning of the movie and didn't really need to be re-engaged until after it had finished. This is truly escapist stuff, but it's done with such an idealistic air that comes crashing down to a begrudging acceptance of realism at the end (the whole atmosphere of the film mirror's Faith's own journey to realisation). The occasional snippet of awful dialogue ("I was born to kiss you"!!!!) doesn't help matters, but overall the film still manages to be extremely enjoyable. A beautiful music score from the talented Rachel Portman really adds to the atmosphere of the film, ably helped by the spectacular Italian scenery.

All in all,Only You is probably only a film that those of us who generally enjoy romantic comedies will really like - but we'll like it a lot.

Other Information

Director: Norman Jewison (Moonstruck)
Year of Release: 1994
Runtime: 115 minutes (or 104 minutes in Finland?!?!)
Rating: PG (US and UK)

Related Links

Top Ten Romantic Comedies


Bonnie Hunt - Return To Me (Director) Cheaper by the Dozen (Actress) Cars (Voice Actor… or Voice Actress? Whatever, she voiced a character…)

Marisa Tomei - What Women Want

Fisher Stevens - Short_Circuit


Recommended: Yes