My One & Only (2009/Runaway/Freestyle DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
I have not been a fan of anything Director Richard
Loncraine has helmed. Brimstone & Treacle was overrated, Firewall a disappointment and Richard III (1995) uneven, but (give or
take backtracking to his early work) My One & Only is a pleasant surprise
of a comedy/drama that is not only “based on a true story” but is a biopic of
sorts. The story introduces us to Anne
(Renée Zellweger) and her son George (Logan Lerman, recently of the underrated 3:10 To Yuma remake) as mother and son no longer
able to deal with their successful, irresponsible band leader father (Kevin
Bacon).
Despite the troubles it will entail, they strike out on
their own and with a mutual friend in Robbie (Mark Rendall) in an amusing tale
that is as much about 1950s America
as it is about them. Though some ideas
may have been altered for laughs or best dramatic effect, the screenplay by
Charlie Peters (superior to his usual fluff) is actually about the early years
of actor George Hamilton before he became a successful actor in Hollywood, though that
only surfaces at the very end.
The cast, also including Eric McCormack, Chris Noth, Nick
Stahl, Troy Garrity and Steven Weber, is very good and this is always
entertaining if not always totally realistic.
Zellweger proves once again she can carry a film with ease as a lead and
works better than most comedies we have seen this year. If you are interested, it is worth going out
of your way for and tracking down.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is a little
soft, but this is not as bad-looking film and has a look that is convincing
enough that you think 1950s. Some
stylizing is here, but Director of Photography Marco Pontecorvo (in 35mm film
by the DP on HBO’s Rome) delivers
and we hope to see a Blu-ray down the line.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is even a little better with a good
soundfield, one of Mark (Freedom Writers,
Miracle) Isham’s better scores and
well-recorded dialogue all around. Two
featurettes (making of and behind the scenes) are the only extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
