One Fine Day (1996 film)

1996 film by Michael Hoffman

One Fine Day is a 1996 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Michael Hoffman, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney as two single working parents, with Alex D. Linz and Mae Whitman as their children. The title comes from the 1963 song "One Fine Day" by the Chiffons, which is heard in the film. Pfeiffer served as an executive producer for the film, which was produced in association with her company Via Rosa Productions.

One Fine Day: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to the film. It was released on December 10, 1996, by Columbia Records. The album peaked at number 57 on Billboard 200 in 1997.

One Fine Day earned a total of $6.2 million during its opening weekend, ranking in fifth place at the box office behind Beavis and Butt Head Do America, Jerry Maguire, 101 Dalmatians and Scream.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "With a throwback 1930s vibe, this screwball romantic comedy is perfect for One Fine Day of folding laundry." It was considered a commercial disappointment by Twentieth Century Fox. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "A 50's romp with a few glaring 90's touches (dueling cellular phones, frazzled single parents), One Fine Day makes for sunny, pleasant fluff. Both stars are enjoyably breezy, and there's enough chemistry to deflect attention from the story's endless contrivances he's [Clooney] such a natural as a movie star that he hardly needs false flattery. Ms Pfeiffer, meanwhile, shows a flair for physical comedy." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times wrote, "'Cinema is the history of boys photographing girls.' Or so Jean Luc Godard is claimed to have said. I thought of his words while watching One Fine Day, an uninspired formula movie with another fine performance by Michelle Pfeiffer. She does everything in this movie that a much better movie would have required from her, but the screenplay lets her down Pfeiffer looks, acts and sounds wonderful throughout all of this, and George Clooney is perfectly serviceable as a romantic lead, sort of a Mel Gibson lite. I liked them. I wanted them to get together. I wanted them to live happily ever after. The sooner the better." Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote, "Director Michael Hoffman, whose idiosyncratic portfolio includes the period comedy Restoration and the spoof Soapdish, sets a mellow pace and alternates old fashioned split screen with crosscutting to enliven the many phone scenes. If the stars don't click, of course, nothing else matters. Happily, Pfeiffer and Clooney, now officially a movie star, not only click, they send off sparks." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "One Fine Day is fortunate in its casting. Not only does it have Michelle Pfeiffer, whose gift for this kind of business was visible as far back as Married to the Mob and The Fabulous Baker Boys, but it marks the emergence of George Clooney as a major romantic star Still, despite feeling like its moments have been micro managed for maximum audience response, One Fine Day often passes for a pleasant diversion. But with actors so suited to each other, it's too bad the film didn't give them more original material to work with." Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "We've seen it before, but Pfeiffer and Clooney do everything in their power to make it seem fresh and delightful. That's ultimately not enough, and even though the stars have some chemistry and Pfeiffer delivers her usual spotless performance, One Fine Day never manages to be more than a harmless, forgettable time filler." Rob Nelson of the Boston Phoenix wrote, "Privilege and coincidence have always been central to screwball comedy, but the speed of crosstown travel here rivals Die Hard 3 for plausibility. And it's these convenient shortcuts that waylay the film from examining the condition it purports to critique: that is, the '90s compulsion to drive at full throttle."

Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref. (Reference) Academy Awards 1997 Best Original Song James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich for "For the First Time" Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Actress – Comedy/Romance Michelle Pfeiffer Golden Globe Awards Best Original Song James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich for "For the First Time" Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress Michelle Pfeiffer Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actor Age Ten or Under Alex D. Linz Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actress Age Ten or Under Mae Whitman YoungStar Awards Best Young Actor in a Comedy Film Alex D. Linz Best Young Actress in a Comedy Film Mae Whitman Grammy Awards 1998 Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich for "For the First Time"