47
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The Associated PressBob ThomasThe Associated PressBob ThomasChris Columbus, who wrote and directed as he did for Home Alone, enhances the comedic bits with commentary on the human condition: the emergence of male-female love; the silver cord between mother and son; the plight of aging single men whose only ties are their pub companions.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannDespite its implausibilities, Only the Lonely disarms you with its innocence. [24 May 1991, p.E1]
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThanks in large part to Mr. Candy, who gives an honestly touching performance in what might have been a cloying role, this story does have its simple charms.
- 60Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonIt’s not the gem it wants to be, but it’s good in comparison to many of the sensation-hungry pictures around it; it’s not just a movie only a mother could love.
- 60Tampa Bay TimesHal LipperTampa Bay TimesHal LipperAt the film's beginning, each of these characters seems hopelessly dated and repressed. It's as if they walked out of a 1940s romance. Yet that's the beauty of Only the Lonely. Innocence has its virtues, as Columbus' bittersweet comedy demonstrates. [24 May 1991, p.14]
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyAs it is, fans of Candy are expecting a John Candy movie -- that is, a reasonably hilarious comedy about a sweetly sympathetic bumbler. And while he is as cumbersomely lovable as a Saint Bernard puppy, he's rarely allowed to be funny here. He seems miserably uncomfortable as a romantic lead, or maybe it's just that he's playing opposite the Stepford Actress.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe performers keep you watching (Candy, I’m convinced, could be a fine dramatic actor), yet the movie itself is a thin procession of clichés.
- 40EmpireAngie ErrigoEmpireAngie ErrigoBy the time everyone's done their darnedest to undermine this romance and the tirelessly selfless St. Danny has begun to contemplate cutting the apron strings, they've all nearly worn out their welcome. It's simple, sweet and uninspired.
- 30Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovThere are some good gags here, and I caught myself grinning more than a few times, but Hughes and Columbus are so set in their ways that everything they work on seems to look, feel, and sound the same.
- Only the Lonely is for only the desperate.