The most memorable thing about the otherwise neither-here-nor-there Only For You is the coloration of the cast's cheeks. Never before have I seen so many excessively rosy red cheeks in a film before. Either the makeup artist was seriously inept or there was a dangerous level of carbon monoxide on the set.
At least the makeup is interesting. The rest of this flashbacky one-that-got-away love story doesn't leave much of an impression. Lovely Dana (Shea Curry), a young divorced actress plying her trade in Portland's local theater scene, has a short fling with the already spoken-for Jack (Michael Buie). There's an attraction, but he's already got a girlfriend, and as years pass he gets engaged, so that's that. Or is it? Jack confesses that he's "going through some changes," and Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years" plays somberly in the background.
As Harry and Sally once debated (in a far more entertaining way): can a man and a woman just be friends? Apparently not in this little world, where Jack finds himself going nuts for Dana despite the fact that we, the viewers, are given little to no evidence that she's worth dumping a fianc� for. She does like dogs, so I guess that's a plus. Dana is the noble one, proclaiming again and again that "No, we mustn't!" And she's right. They shouldn't, especially since Dana is about to move to L.A. to audition for a sitcom, and she has no intention of getting into another marriage where she sacrifices too much for some flaky guy who admits he may be in love with two women at the same time. And by the way, he's not exactly exhibiting Daniel Craig-like charisma while all this is going on. He's just some guy, so really, what's the big deal?
And so on and off, up and down we go, with a pointless detour into a subplot about Dana's wacky friend Tina (Kate Albrecht) and the birth of her baby. Both women find it hilarious that Tina can't figure out which of two men the father might be, but harumph, is this really a laughing matter? Where's Maury Povich when you need him?
You know much more interesting people than these folks. Turn off the DVD player, and go spend some time with them.
See Also
Friday, 27 June 2008
Only for You - 6/24/2008
