Only You (1994)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

A different way of telling a story

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

At the age of eleven, little Faith trusts a Ouija board to give her the name of the man destined to love and cherish her, her soul-mate, her Charming Prince, her alpha-male and omega. A few years later, she goes to a fortune teller and the name pops up again, this time, there can't be any coincidence. I saw the film almost twenty years ago and I never forgot the mysterious and unreachable 'Damon Bradley' less a name than a powerful MacGuffin on which Norman Jewison hang countless gags but also some surprisingly powerful moments that would have been remembered a little more if 1994 wasn't such an exceptional year for films.But let's get back to that Damon Bradley guy, a Keyser Soze of rom-com, whoever he is, the name plays almost like a ticket for Faith' heart, which would be silly if it wasn't played with such tenderness and let's drop the word, romantic way. And there's just something about Marisa Tomei's childish smile and innocent idealism that is immune to cynical comments, when she smiles, we want to pinch her cheeks, when she cries, we just want to hug her. She's too cute for words and when we see her for the first time and when we see her for the first time, as a young teacher about to marry a podiatrist, the film makes it clear that a Damon Bradley, he isn't and happy, she is but it's not all fireworks and moonlights. But while she's trying her wedding dress with her friend Kate (Bonnie Hunt), a mysterious caller announces that he won't come to the wedding, guess his name?The temptation is too big to resist, Faith has the name and of all the places to have an appointment, it had to be Venice. Faith is convinced that destiny is on march, she takes her first plane to Venice, looking for Damon Bradley, surely destiny won't defeat her this time. Again, the film contains one of the craziest premises at first stance but who ever said romantic comedies had to be dependent on logic or common sense, as long as the players convey enough sympathy and charm to make us for long for the inevitable and definite kiss. But it will be a long way to that kiss and it will be paved by many encounters, and not the least being a cute American played by Robert Downey Jr. Downey, the perfect co-player with Tomei, cute and quirky, you can't believe these two guys aren't meant for each other, especially since he says he's Damon Bradley.We know it can be true or false but the trick of romantic comedies is that they rely on the unpredictability of both humor and emotions, but humor is something that appeals to the intellect, more than emotions. As a viewer, we're torn between the childishness of Faith who wants everything to happen according to what she believes in and the moments where her faith is shaken and she seems more entrapped than exhilarated in her 'idealistic' persona, the same premise can either be a source of gags or sadness. In other words, the film is funny and makes you think, not that it has any sophisticated pretension or make any statement but it powerfully distorts this notion of 'destiny' and our obsession with finding 'signs' everywhere.Not all the gags and sad moments work the same, there's also a subplot involving Kate's relationship with her husband and a little affair she has with an Italian played by Joaquim de Almeida, and a nice role for Billy Zane before he was that bastard from "Titanic", but "Only You" is another occasion to marvel at the Italian landscape and its propensity to awake the most intense feelings. The film doesn't make a nod, it is a beautiful tribute to "Roman Holiday" and offers a nice twist on the iconic hand-biting scene and also the Cinderella moment where Audrey Hepburn loses her show. "Only You" resuscitates the charm of these old Hollywood romantic comedies where a clever and sensitive script played the part of destiny and all we had to do was to succumb to the charm of a leading couple, coming from the director "Moonstruck", I'm not surprised.In the end, it's not much about Damon Bradley, we all have a Damon Bradley, a mark in the treasure map of our life, a goal that define and determine us, but maybe real destiny is whatever happens to us when we're seeking this, and maybe it'll lead to more valuable treasures. "Only You" is a real little treat to savor as if you were tasting nipples from Venice, it's light and tasty, and if it hasn't the perfect plot or story it has at least the perfect casting and the perfect setting, that's enough.

So look, from whatever angle you take, this is crazy... taking a chance is good, jumping in is nice, but this is pure and simply stalker-ish. If a guy or girl came after any of us, in the same context, it would make us really really scared, right? Think about it! Wouldn't you have the tendency to run away, call for help, call the police? I don't know about you, but I prefer my love stories a bit more real :)The only reason I gave this movie 5 stars is for its setting in Italy, as I've seen this country and it is truly wonderful and can be a magical place.I was looking for movies about traveling, bu this is not so amazing to watch because of an unbelievably corny and not very well played scenario. I've seen both actors in other movies. It has no good lines for a real comedy and the plot is pushed way over the limits.If you want traveling movies with a better plot and some romance I give you the following names: Under the Tuscan Sun, PS I love you, A Good Year and maybe, maybe Eat, Pray, Love. Not saying these are masterpieces, but they are way better :)

Only You is a romantic comedy and tells the story of a young woman named Faith who plays a board game as a kid and it spells out the name of her potential partner. Fast forward a few years later and Faith(Marisa Tomei) is about to get married when she finds out that her potential partner is in Italy. So she packs her stuff and goes to Italy where she bumps into a very young looking Robert Downey Jr and he makes out that his name is Damon Bradley(even though his name is Peter). So Faith falls for Downey Jr's charms but when he tells her out straight that his name is Peter,she gets furious and another person comes forward and makes out they are Damon Bradley(Billy Zane from Titanic).But could Peter be Faith's soulmate and was there ever a man named Damon Bradley?Bottom line this is a very contrived movie. Its so predicable,and so mushy you just want to say to yourself why am I watching this corny contrived film for. But hey I thought parts of it were cute and I think Robert & Maria had great chemistry together yet the whole premise was a bit stupid. I mean this woman goes on a wild goosechase over some man that she was given the name of as a kid,she's already married but hey she would rather ditch her fiancé for someone else.It was an alright movie but still though I wouldn't mind watching it on a lazy afternoon.4.3/10

From director Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, Fiddler on the Roof, Moonstruck), I spotted this pretty much out of nowhere and noticed the two leading stars, so I just to give it a try. Basically when she was a child Faith Corvatch (Marisa Tomei) used a Ouija Board that spelled out, in individual letters, the name "Damon Bradley", and this is supposedly the name of her soul mate. Now grown up she goes to a carnival and has a fortune teller using her Crystal Ball sees this name as well as the man she will marry, and then, on the verge of getting married, she overhears a phone call from her future husband's friend, it is Damon Bradley calling from Venice, Italy. Faith is determined to track him down, so she and her sister in law Kate (Jumanji's Bonnie Hunt) travel from New York to the Italian countryside and streets of Rome in search of the man they only know by name. They are following his trail with any information people can give from his last known whereabouts, but they seem to keep missing him by small amounts of time, even once by seconds and inches. Then Faith meets a young American man (Robert Downey Jr.), but has no interest in him until he hears the name and identifies himself as Damon Bradley, and after a spending a night together they have both fallen hopelessly in love. It only falls apart when he confesses that he is not Damon Bradley, his real name is Peter Wright, and she angrily walks out wanting to go home, but Kate finding attraction for her from Giovanni (Joaquim De Almeida) the Italian businessman might make that difficult. Peter comes back to her though and says that he has been looking for a Damon Bradley, and found out he has apparently moved to Positano, so Giovanni drives Peter, Faith and Kate there to find her at a posh hotel. Then they find this "Damon Bradley" (Billy Zane), a playboy with long hair and many women lapping him up, and confident she should try and see how things go she invites him to go. Of course it turns out this "Damon" is actually Peter's friend Harry and the whole thing was staged, and meanwhile Kate's husband Larry (Fisher Stevens) has travelled to find them and make up with his wife, but they planned to come home now anyway. Larry reveals to Faith that when he did the Ouiji board as a child and spelled the name out, it was all a prank, and he paid the fortune teller too, he didn't tell her because he was worried she would never talk to him again. Getting to the airport Peter is there to see off Faith, and they both overhear a real Damon Bradley (Adam LeFevre) at the information desk, so they can truly meet him, he is a reasonably good looking man, Peter explains the whole situation to him and he is perplexed, and of course he mentions being in love with her. In the end this Damon asks Faith if she loves Peter, and that if she truly does then she should embrace it, and she manages to catch him on his plane to Boston in time, and they kiss, with all the other passengers applauding, and they fly off into the sunset. Also starring John Benjamin Hickey as Dwayne and Men in Black's Siobhan Fallon as Leslie. Tomei is obviously attractive and she is also charming as the woman searching for the supposed man she has a destiny with, and Downey Jr. is likable as the man she actually should be with, their scenes together are great, and the supporting cast, including sleazy Zane works well too, I can see what the critics mean by a Cinderella style story, it certainly has that quality, and it makes you laugh in the right places, a good fun romantic comedy. Very good!