Only You (1994 film)

Only You is a 1994 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison and starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Joaquim de Almeida, and Fisher Stevens.

Written by Diane Drake and Malia Scotch Marmo (uncredited),[2] the film is about a young woman whose search for the man she believes to be her soulmate leads her to Italy where she meets her destiny.

After playing with a Ouija board with her brother Larry, 11-year-old Faith Corvatch becomes convinced that her soulmate, the man she is destined to be with, is named "Damon Bradley".

Determined to meet him, Faith follows his trail with her sister-in-law and childhood best friend, Kate, who is experiencing turbulence in her marriage and looking for a getaway as well, from Pittsburgh through Venice and the Italian countryside to a street-side restaurant in Rome, but they keep missing him.

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars, calling it "an endangered species in today's Hollywood."

It is total fantasy, light as a feather, contrary to all notions of common sense, it features a couple of stars who are really good kissers—and it takes place mostly in Venice, Rome, and the glorious Italian hillside town of Positano.

There is a case to be made that no modern actors have quite the innocence or the faith to play such heedless lovers, but Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. somehow manage to lose all the baggage of our realistic, cynical age, and give us a couple of fools in love.

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.

[6]In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "frankly touristy" and Jewison's directorial approach "cornball".

Maslin acknowledged Sven Nykvist's "picturesque" cinematography, Milena Canonero's "slinky, glamorous costumes", and Diane Drake's "rather sweet" screenplay.

Bonnie Hunt brings regret, rage and wit to the role of the underappreciated wife, who despite pie in her eye and a willing Latin lover boy, remains faithful to her husband in Pittsburgh.

[9]In his review for Reel Views, James Berardinelli wrote that Tomei and Downey "don't fully connect" and that the film is "entertaining without being exceptionally accomplished."

Berardinelli called the film "essentially a light, inoffensive movie that will appeal to those who aren't seeking more than a bubbly romance.

[12] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.[13] The original soundtrack for Only You was released in 1994 by Columbia Records.