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Only the Lonely

Play trailer Poster for Only the Lonely PG-13 Released May 31, 1991 1h 45m Romance Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Rose (Maureen O'Hara) dearly loves her adult son, Danny (John Candy) -- but when Danny meets Theresa (Ally Sheedy) and falls deeply in love, Ruth feels threatened. Desperate not to lose her son to the shy young woman, Ruth uses dirty tactics to keep the two apart. Danny is perplexed as to what he should do, so he consults his friends Patrick (Kevin Dunn) and Sal (James Belushi), who give him some skewed advice. Now Danny is torn between what his loved ones advise, and what his heart tells him.

Critics Reviews

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Bob Thomas Associated Press Columbus... enhances the comedic bits with commentary on the human condition: the emergence of male-female love; the silver cord between mother and son; the plight of aging single men whose only ties are their pub companions. Jun 12, 2018 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Ends with incredible sweetness. [Full review in Spanish] Dec 8, 2022 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy A pretty easy ride, almost entirely because of John Candy and the miraculous casting of Maureen O'Hara. Rated: 6/10 Nov 14, 2011 Full Review Brian Orndorf BrianOrndorf.com Orchestrates a peaceful stream of gags and one-liners while piecing together a puzzle of broken hearts...one of Columbus's best films, and easily ranks as Candy's most dimensional performance. He's a joy to watch here. Rated: B+ May 24, 2011 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 3/5 Oct 9, 2005 Full Review Ryan Cracknell Movie Views Rated: 2/5 Aug 8, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stephen C Funny in 1.75 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/30/25 Full Review Blu B It's like Marty (1955) sharing the same themes and very simliar setup but just not as good. Don't get me wrong there is nothing broken here or bad. It makes perfect sense, is very easy watching, and feels like almost a borderline early 90's Hallmark channel film. It's just very middle of the road and that's the biggest problem. The direction is basic, the music isn't memorable at all, everyone is forgettable or in O'Hara's case not that likeable. The one good thing here is John Candy who does a great job overall. It's refreshing to see him in a more serious melodrama romance role. The comedy here which I think this is going for like a Romcom Drama type thing is....very flat or at best ok. It gets a laugh every now and than but a lot of it is just flat and doesn't land. It also feels like it half the time is about Candy & the other half O'Hara so it kind of takes away from candy. Another issue the love interest is very forgettable and doesn't have much chemistry with him either. The themes explored here are good but they just don't really land well save for a little bit near the climax. But it nds up going the way you think a film like this would go. This needed better execution, more focus on Candy, better chemistry, and maybe a bit more interesting side characters. If your a hardcore Candy fan this may be worth watching as it is a nice play against type overall despite being comedy here. But most could skip this and not miss much. Just a very middle of the road forgettable not broken in the slightest film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/21/25 Full Review Munkhchimeg T The movie that shows really well about the insecurity and overcoming Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/20/24 Full Review Cristina G A fairy tale -- I love this! Who would know?! John Candy had leading-man charisma! And as for Ally Sheedy, ahhh, I had a big crush on her during the brat-pack days and after. Ally was a very talented and fascinating actress. I wish she had done more interesting work. (I re-watched this movie because of the doco "Brats".) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/26/24 Full Review Les L Aside from some racial stereotypes, the underlying story is great and directed well. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/24 Full Review S R Really great heartwarming movie from John Candy. Nice seeing him in a romantic comedy where he could show off some acting skills. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Only the Lonely

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Movie Info

Synopsis Rose (Maureen O'Hara) dearly loves her adult son, Danny (John Candy) -- but when Danny meets Theresa (Ally Sheedy) and falls deeply in love, Ruth feels threatened. Desperate not to lose her son to the shy young woman, Ruth uses dirty tactics to keep the two apart. Danny is perplexed as to what he should do, so he consults his friends Patrick (Kevin Dunn) and Sal (James Belushi), who give him some skewed advice. Now Danny is torn between what his loved ones advise, and what his heart tells him.
Director
Chris Columbus
Producer
John Hughes, Hunt Lowry
Screenwriter
Chris Columbus
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
20th Century Fox, Hughes Entertainment
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 31, 1991, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$19.9M
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Dolby SR, Surround
Aspect Ratio
35mm