John Candy turns in a wonderful performance as Chicago police officer Danny Muldoon, in his late-30s and still living with his mother. He tries to pursue a relationship with a young girl working as a makeup artist in a funeral home, but his Irish mother won't seem to let go. Quite a charming story, with a few jolts coming from Danny's imagined fears of his mother being harmed when he's not there for her. The way Chicago is represented is hit-or-miss, possibly due to licensing issues for some of the more well-known Chicago images (most notably, the Chicago policeman's uniform and the design of the Chicago squad car), but those flaws notwithstanding the movie still has a Chicago feel to it. There actually are still a few remaining store-front funeral homes in Chicago, and of course the plentiful Irish pubs are captured perfectly. Probably the unheralded star of the movie is old Comiskey Park, which for 80 years was the home of the Chicago White Sox. The filming took place after the final baseball game was played there in 1990 (and a few months before its fateful date with the wrecking ball), and the first-date picnic on the playing field was a wonderful and touching sendoff for the old park. After going to many White Sox games there since age 5, it sure was nice to see the fireworks from the scoreboard one last time!
Review of Only the Lonely
