Only You is a 1994 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Joaquim de Almeida, and Fisher Stevens. Written by Diane Drake and Malia Scotch Marmo (uncredited), the film is about a young woman whose search for the man she believes to be her soulmate leads her to Italy where she meets her destiny.
The film was released in the United States on October 7, 1994, by Sony Pictures Releasing goes through the label of TriStar Pictures. It received mixed reviews, but critics praised Tomei's and Downey's performances, and grossed $20.1 million.
Contents
Plot
After playing with a Ouija board with her brother Larry, 11-year-old Faith Corvatch becomes convinced that her soulmate, the man she is destined to be with, is named "Damon Bradley". This belief is strengthened when a few years later, a carnival fortune-teller tells her that "Damon Bradley" is the name of the man she will marry.
Fourteen years later, Faith, now 25, is a teacher at a Catholic school and is engaged to a podiatrist. Ten days before the wedding, Faith learns that her fiancé's high-school classmate, Damon Bradley, is flying to Venice that day. Determined to meet him, Faith follows his trail with her sister-in-law and childhood best friend, Kate, who is experiencing turbulence in her marriage and looking for a getaway as well, from Pittsburgh through Venice and the Italian countryside to a street-side restaurant in Rome, but they keep missing him.
Faith meets a young American man, but has no interest until he identifies himself as Damon Bradley. They spend a romantic evening together and fall hopelessly in love. He later reveals that his actual name is Peter Wright, so she angrily leaves him and prepares to fly back home. Meanwhile, a suave Italian businessman named Giovanni has been wooing Kate.
The next morning, Peter tells Faith he searched for Damon overnight, discovering he has moved on to Positano. Giovanni offers to drive the three Americans there. At a lavish hotel, Faith meets Damon, a handsome playboy, and invites him to dinner. Peter spies on them until Damon makes unwelcome sexual advances on Faith. It transpires that this "Damon" is actually a friend of Peter's who has helped stage the entire scene.
Back in the United States, Larry discovers that his wife, Kate, is in Italy. He travels there to find her while Kate and Faith are again planning to return home. Larry arrives in time to make up with Kate. He also reveals to her that he intentionally spelled out the name "Damon Bradley" on the Ouija board as a prank, and then paid the fortune-teller to tell Faith that her true love had the same name. He refuses to tell her the truth because he fears she would never speak to him again.
Faith and Peter are at the airport when they hear Damon Bradley paged. At the information desk, they finally meet Damon. Peter tells him why Faith has been following him, and also that he (Peter) is in love with her, then boards his flight home to Boston. Damon asks Faith if she loves Peter. She realizes that she does and rushes to join him on his plane. The airport staff delays the flight until she can board. She and Peter embrace and kiss as the passengers and crew applaud.
Cast
Marisa Tomei as Faith Corvatch
Tammy Minoff as young Faith Corvatch
Robert Downey Jr. as Peter Wright
Bonnie Hunt as Kate Corvatch
Jessica Hertel as young Kate Corvatch
Joaquim de Almeida as Giovanni
Fisher Stevens as Larry Corvatch
Harry Barandes as young Larry Corvatch
Billy Zane as Harry / false Damon Bradley
Adam LeFevre as Damon Bradley
John Benjamin Hickey as Dwayne, Faith's fiancé
Siobhan Fallon as Leslie
Antonia Rey as fortune teller
Phyllis Newman as Faith's mother
Denise Du Maurier as Dwayne's mother
Barbara Cupisti as Anna
Production
Filming locations in the United States included Chicago Studio City in Austin, Chicago, and Pittsburgh and West Mifflin in Pennsylvania.
Italy scenes were shot on location in Rome, Venice, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Positano. Rome locations included the piazza at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Tiber Island, the piazza and column outside San Bartolomeo all'Isola, the Pons Fabricius northeast of Tiber Island, Esquiline Hill, the Fountain of Neptune at Piazza Navona, and the fountain at the south end of Via del Mascherone near Via Giulia. Positano locations included the Hotel Le Sirenuse at via Cristoforo Colombo in Positano (where they meet Billy Zane's character at the pool) and the Hotel Danieli in Venice.
Reception
Box office
The film opened at number three at the North American box office, making $5.7 million on its opening weekend, and grossed $20.1 million in the United States and Canada.
Critical response
Upon its theatrical release, Only You received mixed reviews. In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "an endangered species in today's Hollywood."
It is total fantasy, light as a feather, contrary to all notions of common sense, it features a couple of stars who are really good kissers—and it takes place mostly in Venice, Rome, and the glorious Italian hillside town of Positano. What more do you want? Movies like this were once written for Katharine Hepburn (Summertime), Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday) and Rossano Brazzi (Three Coins in the Fountain). Or remember Clark Gable and Sophia Loren in It Happened in Naples? There is a case to be made that no modern actors have quite the innocence or the faith to play such heedless lovers, but Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. somehow manage to lose all the baggage of our realistic, cynical age, and give us a couple of fools in love.
Ebert singled out Tomei's performance as particularly noteworthy.
I can think of many angst-laden young Hollywood stars, many of them accomplished actors, who could not have come within miles of the work done by Downey and Tomei in this movie. There is craft involved, yes, and even a certain inspiration, but what I reacted to more strongly was an ineffable sense of good nature: Tomei and Downey seem happy in their being here, and happier together than apart. That is what must be present if we're to respond to a story like this.
In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "frankly touristy" and Jewison's directorial approach "cornball". Maslin was even less impressed with Tomei's performance, calling her "the least convincing actress ever to pretend to teach school." Maslin acknowledged Sven Nykvist's "picturesque" cinematography, Milena Canonero's "slinky, glamorous costumes", and Diane Drake's "rather sweet" screenplay.
In his review in The Washington Post, Desson Thomson wrote, "Jewison directs Only You with sure, comic instinct." He singled out Bonnie Hunt's performance, noting, "Jewison's best asset of all is Hunt, an adroit comedian whose retorts and mannerisms—as she helps her friend along in this wacky mess—are priceless."
Year-end lists
5th worst – Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Soundtrack
The original soundtrack for Only You was released in 1994 by Columbia Records. The album contains original music by Rachel Portman, classical Italian music, and pop songs by Michael Bolton.
"Only You (And You Alone)" by Louis Armstrong (3:12)
"Written in the Stars" by Ezio Pinza (1:15)
"Some Enchanted Evening" by Ezio Pinza (3:01)
"I'm Coming with You" by Peter De Sotto and Quartetto Gelato (2:21)
"Venice" by Peter De Sotto and Quartetto Gelato (1:51)
"O Sole Mio" by Peter De Sotto and Quartetto Gelato (3:10)
"La traviata: Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici" by Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, London Symphony Orchestra and Plácido Domingo, conductor (2:57)
"Lost in Tuscany" by Quartetto Gelato (2:29)
"Arriving at Damon's Restaurant" by Quartetto Gelato (1:39)
"Running After Damon" by Quartetto Gelato (0:58)
"Gypsy Blessing" by Quartetto Gelato (3:21)
"Positano" by Quartetto Gelato (1:45)
"Quartet in B flat major: Rondo, Tempo Di Minuetto" by Quartetto Gelato (4:54)
"Do You Love Him?" by Quartetto Gelato (3:16)
"Theme from Only You" by Quartetto Gelato (3:34)
Novelization
A novelization was published in 1994 by Bantam Books, written by romance author Fayrene Preston.
Remake
A Chinese remake also titled Only You was released on July 24, 2015. It stars Tang Wei and Liao Fan.
