seeingbystarlight Danny Muldoon (John Candy), is a happy-go-lucky, overweight police officer who has never really had a girlfriend, mostly because his mother Rose (Maureen O'Hara) doesn't want him to.His younger brother Patrick (Kevin Dunn) is married with three children something which Danny (on some level) has always wanted but has never admitted that he wants.And so, he lives his life out in the company of his mother (who won't admit she's going blind even as she's pouring orange juice into her coffee), his partner Salvatore Bounarte (James Belushi), whom his mother tolerates but doesn't approve of, and his two old pub friends Doyle (Milo O'Shea) and Spats (Bert Remsen), both lifelong bachelors who have nothing left but each other.Shy, and diffident with women, Danny has resigned himself to his ordinary existence.The only excitement in his life being the advances Nick Acropolis (Anthony Quinn) makes on his mother, which she stubbornly resists.Then he meets Teresa Luna (Ally Sheedy), a lonely mortitian's daughter who spends her days applying makeup on corpses, and a heartwarming romance ensues. Danny buys tickets to the Opera, and an expensive suit to impress his new girlfriend (which, of course does not go unnoticed by his mother)."You must care a lot about this girl. New suit. Ballet. Fancy schmantzy."It's not long before Danny (fighting his hysterical bouts of guilt), alienates Theresa by being too attached to Rose.Rose, of course, does nothing to improve the situation but instead makes it worse, so that finally, Theresa leaves altogether, and Danny is force to make a choice.This is a great little movie.Hysterical, true to life, and exceptionally well done.John Candy was always one of my favorite actors, and this was definitely one of his best movies.Maureen O'Hara is great, and the subplot with Anthony Quinn really adds a lot to the story.The rest of the supporting cast is excellent, and the theme song by Roy Orbison really caps it.Originally, Review #35Posted On: October 20, 2009

wilson trivino It has been twenty years since we lost John Candy, the actor and comedian. In one of his less know roles as Danny Muldoon in Only the Lonely, Candy plays a cop who discovers love in an unassuming funeral home make up artist in Theresa Luna (Ally Sheedy). He wins her heart and all is well until they run into the obstacle of Danny's domineering Irish mother Rose Muldoon (Mauren O'Hara). Everyone warms him to the routine of marriage and his best friend played by Jim Belushi tries to sway him away. All the while Nick Acropolis (Anthony Quinn) is pining for Rose's heart as the nosy next door Greek neighbor. A beautiful story with a message of the challenges of love and living happily ever after. I watched it late night on HBO and was marveled on such a good story. John Candy was such a versatile artist. RIP.

williwaw Maureen O Hara one of the great beauties of the American screen was lured out of retirement by Chris Columbus for the role of the matriarch in John Candy's hilarious and poignant Only The Lonely. Ms. O Hara takes the role and runs with it and scores a great hit, and one wonders why the great Star was not nominated for her brilliant performance of a tough loving Mom. The film uses wonderful Chicago-land settings and the late great Mr. Candy is touching as a man who finally finds love. Ensemble cast does well and special kudos to Anthony Quinn. I recommend this movie to see a fine cast at work and to revel in the performance of a great movie queen Maureen O'Hara astonishingly never nominated even once all the more startling when one considers her body of work: Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, Miracle on 34th Street, Parent Trap and of course the quintessential O Hara film John Ford's classic The Quiet Man co starring oft-co star John Wayne.

moonspinner55 It was a grand and inspired move from writer-director Chris Columbus to bring Maureen O'Hara back to the screen in a modern-day romantic comedy, playing the feisty, hen-pecking mother of an unmarried Chicago cop--but that's where Columbus' good ideas run aground. O'Hara's steely looks and angry outbursts are wonderful, and she's quite comfortable acting alongside John Candy as her son, yet this script is so thin it has to rely on mean-spirited fantasy and dumb, time-worn slapstick and insults to pad its running-time. The Chicago sites and neighborhoods aren't really captured with any flavor (the city never comes to life), and James Belushi just gets in the way as the proverbial best friend. Candy does some nice work, and Ally Sheedy (as Candy's new girlfriend from the local funeral parlor) works hard to give the love story a quirky bounce, but the results are a near-miss. ** from ****