My One and Only 2009

Critics score:
68 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: If you have any curiosity at all about how a fellow like George Hamilton became a fellow like George Hamilton, My One and Only answers the question by looking, fondly, at his primary caregiver. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: This isn't exactly untraveled territory, but director Richard Loncraine makes this potentially familiar story fresh... Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Director Richard Loncraine applies a period gloss to the proceedings, but adds little momentum; the film never gets on Zellweger's batty wavelength. Read more

Boston Globe: Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Just when you think nothing will break the summer heat, in blows a cool breeze. Read more

Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle: A grand, colorful coming-of-age story with a candy box color palette and a standout performance by Renee Zellweger. It's a great story and a great crowd-pleaser. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Part road trip, part coming-of-age story, the film ultimately reveals itself as a Hollywood memoir, but it saves any stardust for its last moments. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Renee Zellweger plays to her strengths as an unsinkable Southern belle in the safe and breezy 1950s period piece My One and Only. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: This is a trifle too sweet to dip as dark as despair -- at worst, we know Anne will learn self-reliance. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: My One and Only isn't exactly memorable, but this little, personable movie is a fine showcase for Zellweger's talents and a paean to the sort of mid-1950s America best remembered in Norman Rockwell paintings. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Zellweger isn't dreadful -- in fact, she's more appealing than she's been in years -- but she's not quite good enough. Neither is the film. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The movie is filled with fun '50s Americana, and Lerman, it turns out, really does have the magnetism and star quality to anchor a movie, in a way the real George Hamilton might envy. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Flouncing across the country like Miss Piggy, Renee Zellweger makes My One and Only a fabulous bore. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A colorfully written, expertly directed and beautifully acted romp about the early life of actor George Hamilton that is guaranteed to make you feel warm all over. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's refreshing, and let's hope it's [Zellweger's] passport out of rom-com purgatory and into mature roles. Sadly, it is a better career move than it is a movie. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Basing psychological speculation on a biopic is notoriously risky. All I can say is that after seeing My One and Only, Hamilton's persona somehow clicked into place for me. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: My One and Only is an affectionate picture, set in the early 1950s, that coasts breezily on its charm and style. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: My One and Only is like a tale told by a first-rate raconteur, its twists and turns all the more intriguing because it's all true -- more or less. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: My One and Only aspires to a top-down breeziness, but at the end of the road it's as foolish and superficial as a suntan. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: My One and Only has an old-fashioned sensibility making for a pleasantly diverting road movie. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: Pleasant and pro-made. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: Occasionally diverting but ultimately forgettable. Read more