ONLY THE LONELY (1991/DVD/FEATURETTE/TRAILER) DVD

Only the Lonely
Writer-director Chris Columbus mines Paddy Chaveysky's Marty for this bittersweet comedy about a lonely 38-year old Chicago cop dominated by his harridan mother. Danny Muldoon (John Candy), in spite of being well known and well liked in his neighborhood, still lives at home with his mother Rose (Maureen O'Hara, returning to the screen after a twenty year absence) and spends most of his time worrying about her. One night at the local Irish bar, he meets the shy Theresa Luna (Ally Sheedy), whose father is the local funeral director, and both Danny and Theresa immediately fall in love. The only obstacle to their happiness is the jaded opinions of Danny's friends. Rose, in particular, launches into a bigoted Italian salvo that intimidates Danny, making it difficult for him to continue the relationship. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cast John Candy as Danny Muldoon Maureen O'Hara as Rose Muldoon Ally Sheedy as Theresa Luna Kevin Dunn as Patrick Milo O'Shea as Doyle Bert Remsen as Spats Anthony Quinn as Nick Acropolis James Belushi as Sal Buonarte Joe V. Greco as Johnny Luna Marvin J. McIntyre as Father Strapovic Macaulay Culkin as Billy

Crew Dan Webster - Art Director Mark A. Radcliffe - Co-producer Mary Vogt - Costume Designer Chris Columbus - Director Peter Teschner - Editor Raja Gosnell - Editor Tarquin Gotch - Executive Producer Maurice Jarre - Composer (Music Score) Rodger Jacobs - Makeup John Muto - Production Designer Julio Macat - Cinematographer John Hughes - Producer Hunt Lowry - Producer Karen Fletcher-Trujillo - Set Designer Rosemary Brandenberg - Set Designer Gary Baugh - Set Designer Bill Arnold - Set Designer Chris Columbus - Screenwriter

Only the Lonely
Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely is memorable if for no other reason than it attempts to make John Candy into a viable romantic lead. He does not have conventional sex appeal, but Candy does communicate a basic goodness and kindness as Danny Muldoon that helps make this familiar story more palatable than one might expect. The relationship between Danny and his mother could easily devolve into bathos in the hands of lazy actors, but Candy and Maureen O'Hara pull it off. They are familiar "types" to be sure, but they bring some nice color to a paint-by-numbers story structure. There is little that is original about the film, but this is one of those instances where solid casting and fine performances outweigh the inherent banality of the plot and the characters. Anyone who enjoys old-fashioned romances will have a good time with Only the Lonely. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DDS2.0: Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels of sound from a 2-channel stereo mix. Additional Features: cc Widescreen presentation enhanced for 16x9 tvs Promotional featurette Theatrical trailer TV spot DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 105 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Good Morning, Danny (Main Titles) [6:35] 2. The Good With the Bad [5:56] 3. A Drink for the Dead [4:14] 4. No Means Yes! [8:01] 5. The Date [6:54] 6. Unfortunate Accident [5:07] 7. From Dusk Until Dawn [8:03] 8. While Mom Is Away... [5:06] 9. Home Early [4:14] 10. Three's a Crowd [5:53] 11. Telling it Like it Is [3:16] 12. The Proposal [5:18] 13. Doubt [5:30] 14. To the Bride and Groom [3:50] 15. Mama's Boy [4:22] 16. Wedding Day Blues [4:32] 17. Only the Lonely [6:51] 18. Got to Get the Girl [2:18] 19. It's Good to Be a Cop [4:48] 20. End Credits [3:33]