With the Chicago-set Only the Lonely, Chris Columbus puts a comedic spin on the lonely-bachelor story familiar from Marty in his fourth directorial outing. The title comes from the classic Roy Orbison song, “Only the Lonely.”

Chicago police officer Danny Muldoon (John Candy) is a 38-year-old bachelor still living with his domineering mother, Rose (Maureen O’Hara). Since his father’s death, Danny has devoted himself to family, helping his brother Patrick (Kevin Dunn) through law school and caring for Rose. Though Patrick has a family of his own, he pressures Danny to remain single and eventually move to Florida with their mother. Meanwhile, Rose’s persistent neighbor Nick Acropolis (Anthony Quinn) has his eyes on her, further complicating Danny’s sense of duty.

Danny’s life shifts after meeting Theresa Luna (Ally Sheedy), a shy funeral director’s daughter who blossoms under his affection. Their romance, however, runs into friction from Rose’s jealousy and Danny’s guilt over leaving her alone. A disastrous dinner—where Rose insults Theresa’s background—forces Theresa to defend herself, while Danny fails to do so. Later, Danny finally confronts his mother, condemning her cruel bluntness and recalling how she once cost his father a career opportunity with similar behavior.

Determined to marry Theresa, Danny proposes in dramatic fashion, only to face opposition from Patrick, who insists Danny is settling and should stay available for Rose. The relationship unravels when Danny prioritizes calling his mother over Theresa on the eve of their wedding. Both bride and groom fail to show, and Danny slips back into old patterns, preparing to relocate with Rose. Yet the sudden death of Doyle (Milo O’Shea) makes him reconsider a lonely future lived in his mother’s shadow.

On moving day, Danny refuses to join Rose, who tearfully urges him to find happiness with Theresa. Discovering she’s bound for New York, Danny intercepts her train and professes his love, promising she will always come first. Theresa hesitates, but Danny assures her that Rose can handle herself now—imagining her and Nick fending off terrorists mid-flight. Reconciled, Danny and Theresa board the train together, ready to begin a new life in New York.

The Oscar-winning Marty was a romantic drama written by screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, who won an Oscar for Marty, The Hospital, and the brilliant satire Network. With its story of an Italian-American butcher living with his mother and resigned to bachelorhood, it seemed inevitable that someone would eventually attempt a comedic spin. That someone was Chris Columbus, who found his version in Only the Lonely.

By the time production began, Maureen O’Hara had been retired from acting for two decades, splitting her time between the Virgin Islands and Ireland. Columbus had written Only the Lonely specifically with her in mind for portraying Rose and spent a month tracking her down. Taking the part reunited O’Hara with Anthony Quinn, her co-star from 36 years earlier. You can’t help but feel for Sheedy’s Theresa, what with Rose insulting her with every opportunity she gets.

Only the Lonely is also unusual in being one of the few John Hughes–produced films he neither wrote nor directed. While Hughes typically shepherded his own scripts, here he backed Columbus—Home Alone was released while the film was in production—directing frequent collaborator John Candy. Macauley Culkin also cameoed in the film after previously appearing in Uncle Buck and Home Alone.

Unlike Hughes’s many suburban tales, Only the Lonely is set squarely in Chicago—Danny and Rose live in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood not too far from Wrigleyville, although the interiors were constructed on a soundstage in Chicago. Meanwhile, the film was among the last to feature old Comiskey Park on screen. While you’d think a guy living very close to Wrigley Field would be a Chicago Cubs fan, Hughes was a White Sox fan and joined Candy in requesting that the date take place at their stadium before it was demolished.

In a promotional featurette, Columbus described Only the Lonely as “a film about finding love, losing love, and what it means to be a lonely person in Chicago or New York or any major metropolitan city.” The film itself is fine. It’s not peak Candy, Hughes, or Columbus, but the cast is clearly doing their best to elevate the material.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Chris Columbus
CAST: John Candy, Maureen O’Hara, Ally Sheedy, Kevin Dunn, Milo O’Shea, Bert Remsen, with Anthony Quinn and James Belushi

20th Century Fox released Only the Lonely in theaters on May 24, 1991. Grade: 3/5

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