Only You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Only You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson August 16, 2023

Some years after Norman Jewison's Moonstruck (1987) struck Oscar gold, Hollywood development executive Diane Drake hatched an idea to rework parts of the popular romantic comedy as she fleshed out an original screenplay of her own. The main difference is that the setting would be in Pittsburgh and Italy rather than in Brooklyn. According to the production notes in the press kit for the eventual film, Only You (1994), producers Robert N. Fried and Cary Woods purchased Drake's spec script, Him, in December 1992 for $1 million. The producers sent it to Jewison, already a veteran of the rom-com having made The Thrill of It All (1963) and Send Me No Flowers (1964) early in his directorial career. Jewison was quoted in the press notes that he was "captivated by the idea behind the story" and intrigued by Drake's "very interestingly structured script."

Only You opens with 11-year-old Faith Corvatch (Tammy Minoff) and her brother Larry (Harry Barandes) playing an Ouija Board game. Faith receives a message from the game's planchette that she is destined to be romantically linked with a guy named Damon Bradley. Later at a carnival, a Gypsy fortuneteller (Antonia Rey), who Faith goes to see, looks into her crystal ball and predicts that Damon Bradley is the fellow Faith is destined to be with. Flash-forward years later to a now-adult Faith (Marisa Tomei), a Pittsburgh schoolteacher. Since up to this point she hasn't encountered any Damon Bradley, Faith has moved on with Dwayne (John Benjamin Hickey), a boorish podiatrist she's engaged to. Ten days before her wedding, Faith receives a phone call from a man claiming he's a friend of her fiancé. The fellow says he's departing for Italy. His name? Damon Bradley. Faith, an über believer in fate and destiny, excitedly hangs up the phone and informs her sister-in-law, Kate (Bonnie Hunt), that she's headed to the airport to catch a flight to Italy. Kate initially considers it a crazy idea. But since Kate is having problems in her marriage to Larry (Fisher Stevens), a roofing contractor, she's ready for a little getaway herself. When in Italy, Faith and Kate run into dead-ends trying to locate Damon Bradley. One evening, Faith has a chance encounter with Peter Wright (Robert Downey Jr.), a shoe salesman. When Faith says she's looking for a Damon Bradley, Peter claims he's that guy. Peter attempts to sweep Faith off her feet.

As you can see from my synopsis, Drake and Jewison use "Damon Bradley" as a MacGuffin to drive the plot forward, which results in several comedic mishaps. Jewison's direction is solid. The film has a breezy atmosphere that goes well with the romantic fantasies Faith muses about. The chemistry between Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. is more of a sibling/good-friend variety than it is a convincing romantic pairing. Much of the problem lies in the contrivances and trite material inherent in Drake's script. This is a far-fetched story and unrealistic romantic fable. Sure, the filmmakers are working within the rom-com fantasy sub-genre, but there are lots of implausibilities as events unfold. What Only You has to recommend is a warm orchestral score from Rachel Portman and sumptuous lensing of Tuscany, Rome, Positano, and Venice by the legendary Sven Nykvist.

Only You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony's Blu-ray of Only You has often not been available on Amazon.com but is fortunately back in stock. The film appears in its originally exhibited ratio of 1.85:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. Skin tones appear natural. The image sports a healthy amount of grain that's very well-balanced on this transfer. There are few age-related artifacts. Nykvist's shots of Italian landmarks and landscapes often look stunning. The red Volkswagen in Screenshot #14 has a nice "pop." Sony encodes the feature at a mean video bitrate of 23288 kbps.

Twelve scene selections can only be activated by using your remote since there is no menu.

Only You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony has supplied a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track (4407 kbps, 24-bit). Much of this mix can be heard along the front channels. Dialogue is clear and comprehensible. A rainstorm in the first part of the film provides some activity on the rear speakers. For the score's thematic material, composer Rachel Portman alternates with woodwinds (e.g., a flute solo) and strings. She also incorporates her trademark bouncy rhythms to accent comic elements. The film's sound track also mixes in vintage and romantic ballads that tie in with the themes of the picture well.

There are optional English SDH as well as French and Spanish subtitles.

Only You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no extras on the Blu-ray. I own the R2 UK DVD, which has an EPK behind-the-scenes featurette (5:29, 576i). The piece includes interviews shot in Italy with Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Bonnie Hunt, and Norman Jewison. It also includes footage with Nykvist, Jewison, and other crew members working with the actors. There's also the original theatrical trailer (2:09, 576i), which appears on the R1. Both are presented in 1.33:1.

Only You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Only You is best appreciated as a breezy travelogue film since it doesn't have a particularly strong or "deep" script. The actors surely enjoyed making the picture but don't deliver the memorable moments that many classic rom-coms have. Sony has served up an excellent transfer and very solid lossless audio track in 5.1. I'd love to see a label obtain the early Downey rom-com The Pick-up Artist (1987) and re-release it on Blu-ray. The disc for Only You comes RECOMMENDED.