Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13103 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-14
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Running time: 105 minutes

Review
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

On the DVD
ccWidescreen presentation enhanced for 16x9 tvs
Promotional featurette
Theatrical trailer
TV spot

Synopsis
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

Customer Reviews

This is a GREAT movie, I loved it.
From start to finish, this movie is worth watching. This movie is 110% funny. I would say, Only the Lonely is John Candy's best. If you want comedy and a family movie, get this movie, you and the family will enjoy it.

Subtle comic role really allows John Candy to shine
John Candy turns in a wonderful performance as Chicago police officer Danny Muldoon, in his late-30s and still living with his mother. He tries to pursue a relationship with a young girl working as a makeup artist in a funeral home, but his Irish mother won't seem to let go. Quite a charming story, with a few jolts coming from Danny's imagined fears of his mother being harmed when he's not there for her. The way Chicago is represented is hit-or-miss, possibly due to licensing issues for some of the more well-known Chicago images (most notably, the Chicago policeman's uniform and the design of the Chicago squad car), but those flaws notwithstanding the movie still has a Chicago feel to it. There actually are still a few remaining store-front funeral homes in Chicago, and of course the plentiful Irish pubs are captured perfectly. Probably the unheralded star of the movie is old Comiskey Park, which for 80 years was the home of the Chicago White Sox. The filming took place after the final baseball game was played there in 1990 (and a few months before its fateful date with the wrecking ball), and the first-date picnic on the playing field was a wonderful and touching sendoff for the old park. After going to many White Sox games there since age 5, it sure was nice to see the fireworks from the scoreboard one last time!

When is This Going to get to DVD?
I have always liked this movie. I liked Only the Lonely when I saw it in a movie theater and I liked it when I watched it on HBO. I even taped it off of HBO but taped over it and I now regret doing that. I think this is a cute movie and I think John Candy, Anthony Quinn and Maureen O'Hara were wonderful even though her character was so mean. Also good are Milo O'Shea, Ally Sheedy and the rest of the cast and being Irish-American I loved the Irish and Irish-American characters and I loved the love story with John Candy and Ally Sheedy's characters and I think they had some great chemisty and I would love to see Only the Lonely transferred to DVD in a nice widescreen edition!