MovieChat Forums > Only the Lonely (1991) Discussion > Wow. I'm an idiot for not having seen th...

Wow. I'm an idiot for not having seen this before...

posted 13 years ago by Hilwo
9 replies | jump to latest

I really like John Candy, the movies I like most are Planes, Trains & Autmobiles and Uncle Buck. Also like Cool Runnings and Space Balls, but for some reason I've never really looked beyond these movies. So I bought both Delirious and Only the Lonely and looked forward to watching them.

With Delirious, I loved to see John Candy again, but the movie itself was so-so in my opinion.

But Only the Lonely, wow, what a pleasant surprise. Again, another great performance by John Candy. Also really liked seeing Ally Sheedy again (only seen her in Short Circuit), I thought there was great chemistry between her and John Candy. All in all, great flick, great characters :) John, you are missed!!

[–] Ziglet_mir 13 years ago

I definitely felt the same way when I came across this film for the first time two years ago! You're right on though! Great Movie, Great characters! And the chemistry between Sheedy and Candy is Adorable and excellent all at the same time!

I'm Your Huckleberry.

[–] Kariann1 13 years ago

Indeed, there was a sweetness and chemistry between John and Ally. These relationships with overbearing mothers do exist. This is a terrific movie.

[–] mcfly-31 13 years ago

That's because this was a real movie, whereas Delirious was an underdeveloped mess. The best ideas don't always end up in the right hands. I mean, a story where a guy can control the action via his typewriter? And as you said, the film wasn't horrible, but so-so in terms of a missed oppurtunity.

Only the Lonely has heart, truth, small town life, some good mild laughs, strong characters. Candy was only allowed to be human, really, twice in his film career. In PTA and here. Otherwise he was pratfalling or dressing in drag.

For a basic film, this was one of the best of '91.

"If I had ya where I wanted ya, they'd be pumpin your ass full of formaldehyde!"

[–] Ziglet_mir 10 years ago

On a side note, Delirious was very underdeveloped, but I thought it was an excellent comedy. It was a John Candy equivalent to Groundhog's Day in a way.

But Delirious definitely has more going for it than I think many people give it credit (for those who've seen it anyway). First of all, the cast is pretty great: John Candy, Raymond Burr, Dylan Baker, Charles Rocket, Emma Samms, Jerry Orbach, Mariel Hemingway, and a brief appearance by Mark Boone Junior. The fact that the entire movie mocks itself is awesome, while also mocking soap operas. Here is just one portion of the story: Dylan Baker's character, who can do no wrong by his father, is slowly and crudely falling apart (literally) by his sister's twisted request to have her doctor boyfriend raise his dosage of medicine for his migraines, while his brother played by Charles Rocket can do no right by their father, and is accused of being in love with his sister. AND...

On top of it all, John Candy controls the story... with his typewriter!

Now I'm not necessarily disagreeing that it could have been a much better movie provided it had enough monetary support, but I have no complaints about the cast and what they did with a mediocre script.

It's a great movie for us writers to watch!
But to each his own!

Hiya

[–] RobBase086-1 13 years ago

I remember when I went and saw this at the movie theater and it is a John Hughes film too! I mean he produced the film I believe. I love films like this!

Dedicated to USA UP ALL NIGHT and the fans! http://usaupallnight.webs.com

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Vongrove 10 years ago

I completely agree. This film came up while playing a movie naming game with friends and I had never heard of it. Then the next day it was on HBO so I taped DVR'd it. Just watched it last night and absoluely loved it

[–] sasha_s19 8 years ago

What was the movie naming game, if you don't mind? Sounds fun!

[–] Movie_Riggs 8 years ago

You've only seen Ally in Short Circuit? You never watched WarGames or Breakfast Club?