Only You (1994)

Summary

Woman puts off her wedding to chase after a man she's never met, believing that he is her soulmate.

Director

Norman Jewison

Downey Factor

Medium. Steady screen time starts about halfway through the movie.

Character

Peter Wright, a truth-bending shoe salesman who falls for Marisa Tomei.

Looks

Nothing to complain about.

Performance

Comedic. Not especially memorable, but amusing.

Line

I admit it, mea culpa, I lied about one little thing.

Accent

None, though he speaks a little Italian.

Love & Sex

Light romantic comedy chronicles his romance with Maris Tomei

Dies, Gay or Villain

No.

Cast

Marisa Tomei, Billy Zane, Joaquin de Almeida, Bonnie Hunt

Connection

Marisa Tomei in Chaplin, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Endgame.

Billy Zane in Danger Zone.

Fisher Stevens in Baby It's You.

RDJ Says

[The most I ever earned for a movie] was in 1994. Two and a quarter million—for six weeks on a movie called Only You ... when I did this movie with Marisa Tomei in Italy called Only You, I was like, "Okay, what did we do? Like you bought a bunch of '50s songs and you got the rights to the name and you want to make sure you spend them all before the hour's over?" Originally it was going to be called Faith and I thought that was a great thing and the character's name was Faith and I thought "Wow, that's cool." Well, cool's not what we're after ... I asked Norman "What does [Gregory Peck] sound like?" and he did it once and I repeated what he said, so I was basically doing Norman Jewison doing Gregory Peck! ... I did at one point declare myself the King of Positano. I had a bed sheet on and I demanded the key to the city! ... Peter is as relentless in his pursuit of Faith as she is in her pursuit of Damon. He is willing to do whatever, to be whomever and to go wherever to get her to be in love with him. Unfortunately, Faith has a one-track mind, which forces Peter into some really creative behavior ... Everyone has their Mr. or Mrs. Right out there, but so many things have to happen for the two people who are meant to be together to actually get together. It's amazing how you wind up with the right person.

Time & Place

Present day (1992), Rome and Positano, Italy

Availability

Released in theaters 7 October 1994. On DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4

Foreign Titles

Argentina: Solo Tu (Only You)
Brazil: Só Você (Only You)
Croatia: Samo Ti (Only One)
Finland: Tähtiin Kirjoitettu (Written on the Stars)
Germany: Nur für Dich (Only for You)
Italy: Amore a Prima Vista (Love at First Sight)
Poland: Tylko Ty (Only You)
Spain: Solo Tu (Only You)

Rotten Tomatoes

50% Fresh | 22 Reviews

Critical View

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I can think of many angst-laden young Hollywood stars, many of them accomplished actors, who could not have come within miles of the work done by Downey and Tomei in this movie. There is craft involved, yes, and even a certain inspiration, but what I reacted to more strongly was an ineffable sense of good nature: Tomei and Downey seem happy in their being here, and happier together than apart. That is what must be present if we're to respond to a story like this.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Downey, a world-class charmer, also scores points as an American shoe salesman who enjoys a lip-locked evening in Roma with Faith by telling her he is Damon. Is he? Or is the mystery man Billy Zane, hilarious as a brainless, boob-grabbing hunk Faith finds by a pool? No fair giving away secrets as the movie becomes a series of searches until Faith finds her man and her heart. Only You isn't much more than target marketing for the Sleepless in Seattle crowd.

Does It Hold Up

On the surface, it's a charming romantic comedy where the two leads have good chemistry and that's not something that diminishes with time. If you think about it too hard, you could come to the conclusion that almost every character in this movie is a terrible person, though.

2 Reasons to See It

1. The idyllic Italian setting.
2. If you want to see Robert Downey Jr as the lead in a romantic comedy, this is his best one.

Overall

It's no Citizen Kane, but it's cute and charming. Good for a few laughs and something nice to look at.

If You Like It

You might also like Heart and Souls (1994), Chances Are (1989)

Photos

Video