Directed by Chris Columbus. Starring John Candy, Maureen O'Hara, Ally Sheedy, James Belushi, Anthony Quinn, Kevin Dunn, Joe Greco, Bert Remsen, Milo O'Shea. (PG-13)
Lonely Chicago cop Candy falls in love with a funeral home makeup artist (Sheedy, an awkwardly shy wallflower in her early scenes and suddenly...not); there's just one problem, and it's spelled M-O-M. One of the better vehicles for its likable star, emphasizing his sympathetic schlub side over his cloddish funny side, is sweet and sentimental and even a little corny, but still likable enough. It was the first film role for O'Hara in two decades (she came out of retirement to play the part) and she gets it just right--tart, smothering, frustrating, callously honest (even bigoted), but just well-meaning enough to not come off as a complete shrew. The comic relief on the fringes (Candy's sex-obsessed partner Belushi; Quinn as an amorous neighbor; fantasy sequences where terrible things happen to that poor, poor harridan of a mother; etc.) can be hit-or-miss, and as a pure romance, it's pretty thin gruel with only moderate chemistry on display, but it's still a pleasant enough diversion to warrant a watch.
64/100
Lonely Chicago cop Candy falls in love with a funeral home makeup artist (Sheedy, an awkwardly shy wallflower in her early scenes and suddenly...not); there's just one problem, and it's spelled M-O-M. One of the better vehicles for its likable star, emphasizing his sympathetic schlub side over his cloddish funny side, is sweet and sentimental and even a little corny, but still likable enough. It was the first film role for O'Hara in two decades (she came out of retirement to play the part) and she gets it just right--tart, smothering, frustrating, callously honest (even bigoted), but just well-meaning enough to not come off as a complete shrew. The comic relief on the fringes (Candy's sex-obsessed partner Belushi; Quinn as an amorous neighbor; fantasy sequences where terrible things happen to that poor, poor harridan of a mother; etc.) can be hit-or-miss, and as a pure romance, it's pretty thin gruel with only moderate chemistry on display, but it's still a pleasant enough diversion to warrant a watch.
64/100