Trending
    • INVISIBLE BEAUTY, an interview with Frédéric Tcheng
    • CWB Jury & nominees for MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award at 2023 Lucas FF
    • Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award
    • Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
    • Toronto Film Festival 2023
    • Iranian Influential Women: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
    • Sundance Film Festival Asia
    • Enea, review
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    • Home
    • Feature Story
    • News
    • Conversations
    • Festivals
    • Cinema Tech
    • Film Reviews
    • CinéEqual
    • Other Arts
    • Archives
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    You are at:Home»Film Reviews»My One and Only is Simple and Heartwarming

    My One and Only is Simple and Heartwarming

    0
    By Ed Yealu on 09/07/2009 Film Reviews

    Based on the childhood exploits of actor George Hamilton, My One and Only follows the four month adventure of Anne Deveraux (Renee Zellweger) and her two teenage sons (of different fathers) George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendall). After growing tired of the uninvolved and adulterous ways of her musician husband Dan (Kevin Bacon) Anne gathers her two sons and sets out on an adventure to find a husband who will support her and her children. We see that Anna has no real relationship with her children particularly with her son George; despite her constant reassurances to her children it is obvious that she has no real direction in life and is more concerned with her own well being rather than her children. Throughout the film Anna encounters several men whom she forms significant bonds, eventually all of the relationships result in engagements but then dissolve due to varying issues. The boys also have their own agendas; Robbie is an aspiring young actor while George is an aspiring writer who is truly more concerned with finding some kind of stability in his life. The main relationship displayed in the film is with George and Anna; throughout the film their two personalities clash and we see the journey of a mother and son bonding through the most unconventional circumstances.

    A comedy, at its surface, the film is propelled by incredibly witty dialogue that never seems to leave the realm of the 50’s. The character of Anne is a caricature of the naïve 50’s woman who is blinded by the fallacies of the American Dream. She neglects her children and moral values, hoping to somehow achieve a luxurious life while doing the least amount of work. Due to her romanticized views of life, Anne is seen as very sophomoric and childish while her sons are more mature and are (literally) just along for the ride. This ironic family composition, where the children seem to have an authority over a childish parent, is a great device for comedy as you see a grown woman’s incredible naivety and indulgence as she seems to learn more from her children than they learn from her.

    The three main characters provide great performances, the most prominent of which is Renee Zellweger’s. Zellweger’s performance ranges from quirky to heart-wrenching as she shows us a woman who is slowly coming to the realization that her grandiose dreams and idealized view of success will most likely not come to fruition. Logan Lerman effectively plays the assertive and headstrong George, while Mark Rendall delivers a great comedic turn as the loyal and effeminate Robbie.

    The film remains entirely in the real of the 50’s from its visual style, dialogue and progression. The film has a unique duality in the sense that although it is a semi-biographical narrative film, its presentation of the 50’s culture gives it a very documentary styled presentation; as the story is told completely through the eyes of George (the real life George Hamilton executive produced the film). The film does suffer from this style at times as some of the more sentimental scenes seemed too melodramatic or forced.

    Simple, Heartwarming, and filled with lessons on maturity and family, My One and Only is great trip back to a time when the true opportunities of American culture had to be sought by a person rather than presented to one.

    ***
    Weak: 1 Star   Average: 2 Stars   Good: 3 Stars   Very Good: 4 Stars   Excellent: 5 Stars

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Ed Yealu

    Ed Yealu was born and raised in New Jersey and in 2006 graduated from Cedar Grove High School. He is currently a 3rd year TV/Video/Film major at Hofstra University in Long Island, NY. He has always had a passion for film but he but he decided to turn it into a career when he was a freshman in high school. He is actively involved with Hofstra’s Student film magazine High Angle. He has always had a deep interest in foreign films and foreign cultures and is always eager to learn more about the world. Doesn’t speak Japanese but is known to try. In his opinion a good night is best spent with a DVD a warm blanket and a notepad.

    Related Posts

    Enea, review

    Finally Dawn, Review

    Between Two Worlds, Review

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.



    Most donations are tax deductible.
    Latest Stories
    09/29/2023

    INVISIBLE BEAUTY, an interview with Frédéric Tcheng

    09/27/2023

    CWB Jury & nominees for MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award at 2023 Lucas FF

    09/19/2023

    Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award

    09/10/2023

    Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    Bridging The Border Award

    At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and …Read More

     

    I, Immigrant, International Film Festival
    CineEqual

    CinéEqual represents filmmakers, institutions, and community members with a focus on social justice cinema. As an integrated unit of CWB, it promotes a diverse, inclusive, and equitable democratic society that values the worth of all humans…Read More

     

    About
    About

    Cinema Without Borders is a meeting place of independent cinema. Based in Los Angeles, CWB puts the spotlight on rising talent around the globe to achieve its mission, which is to serve and strengthen communities of filmmakers and film students across real and virtual borders.

    Copyright Cinema Without Borders@2018

    Popular Posts
    01/02/2001

    Cinecon 46-The 46th edition of the Classic Film Festival

    10/09/2006

    An Interview with Jonathan Wolf, Managing Director of AFM

    10/11/2006

    Film & TV production in Afghanistan

    Article Photos
    NasserFarhoudiWP
    SiggrpphSlider
    FundingCoverImage
    6-RADUSlider
    Nouredin-WP-Slider
    NOHOFestival-WP-Slider
    MiamiFF-WP-Slider
    MarkTamez-WP-Slider
    LouderThanBombs-WP-Slider
    HP-Rick-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-2-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-1-WP-Slider
    Contacts & Credits

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.