Only You Rating: Release Date: 15 April, 1998 Retail Price: $14.94 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Marisa Tomei Robert Downey Jr. Bonnie Hunt Billy Zane Complete Cast (9 total)

Only You Reviews

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Beautiful Scenery and Stellar Co-Stars Overshadow Tomei's Intended Audrey Wannabe Vehicle
Poor Marisa Tomei. She made the fastest career beeline from the B-List to the A-List and back to B thanks to this overly formulaic 1994 romantic comedy. Directed by Norman Jewison in a dreamy manner that seems designed to repeat the unexpected success of "Moonstruck", the movie is placed squarely on Tomei's shoulders to carry right after her questionable Oscar win for "My Cousin Vinny", and she is unfortunately given a petulant, irritating character to play here. As Faith Corvatch, she is a Pittsburgh schoolteacher about to get married when destiny seems to interject with the appearance of a man whose name, Damon Bradley, was predestined to be the identity of his soul mate. A chance phone call leads her impetuously to Italy where she leads a bumbling Clouseau-like chase, accompanied by her sensible sister Kate, to find him. She misses him in Venice but thinks she lands him in Rome. He instead turns out to be a designer show salesman named Peter Wright. Smitten with Faith, Wright decides to help her find Damon but only to make her realize that he is her soul mate.

Tomei has obviously been positioned as an Audrey Hepburn-type gamine, but her persona is too jittery and agitating to make the ruse work. She is also unfortunately overshadowed by her co-stars. Robert Downey, Jr. shows genuine comic élan as Wright, and it's unfortunate that it takes nearly 45 minutes before his character even shows up to complicate matters. The sharp-tongued Bonnie Hunt is almost too good as Kate as her character goes through her own sketchily-written marital trauma at the same time. She comes across as so clever, likable and well-grounded that she takes the focus off Tomei. The rest of the cast seem to play up their respective stereotypes - Joaquin de Almeida as a Roman lothario chasing Kate, Fisher Stevens as Kate's lunk-headed contractor husband and Billy Zane in surfer-dude mode as Faith's possible love interest. What does work is the beautiful cinematography by Ingmar Bergman's great cameraman, Sven Nykvist. Venice, Rome and especially Positano on the Amalfi Coast rarely have looked more inviting onscreen. The 2004 DVD has no extras other than the original theatrical trailer.

"The truth is, you make your own destiny."
This is the story of a school teacher named Faith (Marisa Tomei) who believes in destiny and true love. When she was a young girl a Ouija board and a fortune teller separately come up with the name of Damon Bradley as her future soul-mate. 14 years later, days before her wedding, she's trying out her wedding gown when she picks up the phone and speaks with an unknown friend of her fiance's - by the name of Damon Bradley. Faith, still in her wedding gown, trails the name all the way to the airport and ends up flying to Italy. And into Robert Downey, Jr's arms.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays a shoe salesman who tells Faith he's the fabled Damon Bradley, only to admit later that his real name is Peter Wright. Peter, who is in love with Faith, nevertheless, helps her to chase down her elusive soul-mate. But what if that soul-mate isn't the man of her dreams?

Only You is essentially a romantic-comedy road picture, with the gorgeous boot-shaped country contributing as a key co-star. Faith and Kate journey the breadth of Italy in search of Faith's destiny, in the meanwhile treating us to many lush and romantic sceneries. This film is replete with cute and mushy moments, abetted by that musical standard "Some Enchanted Evening." And, of course, wonderful, sunlit Italy, with its beautiful country- and seasides and its weight and sense of history, is always drawing you into that touchy-feely state of mind.

You'd think it'd all be too corny and overdone (with over-the-top lines like "I was born to kiss you") but, somehow, it all works. I particularly enjoyed Faith and Damon acting out a scene from A Roman Holiday (good impression of Gregory Peck). I doubt that Italians in general are so obliging, but one hopes that if one were stuck in an airport and in need of desperately switching planes, an Italian airport crew would be as accomodating, in the name of love.

Marisa Tomei is sweetness personified, innocent, starry-eyed, and cute as the short-tressed Faith. Faith's hopeful outlook on life is juxtaposed by the discontented unhappiness of Kate, her sister-in-law and travel companion. The more practical Kate, played by the excellent Bonnie Hunt, is in a married relationship that isn't working out. Hunt is both sensitive and funny and proves yet again that she is a very good actress.

Robert Downey, Jr. is one of my all-time favorite actors. From The Pick-Up Artist onwards, I've seen everything he's done. Downey has an ingratiating quality that makes him accessible to the viewer. He's witty, wry-humored, and can act. He can act a lot. And because of his personal missteps, he's always been seen in the light of an underdog. Here, as "Damon Bradley," his charm and screen presence are as reliable as ever. The supporting cast of Fisher Stevens, Joaquim de Almeida, Billy Zane, and John Benjamin Hickey don't embarass themselves.

If you believe in leaps of faith and taking chances, and in the magic of old-school romantic cinemas, then this movie is for you. Only You is hopeful and hopelessly old-fashioned, with a sound message: that, while it's okay to believe in fate, in the end, you make your own destiny.


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