''The One and Only'' is a 2002 British

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Simon Cellan Jones, and starring

Richard Roxburgh Richard Roxburgh (born 23 January 1962) is an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including three AACTA Awards (including AFI), three Logie Awards, ...

Justine Waddell Justine Waddell (born 4 November 1975) is a South African-British former actress. She played roles in the 2006 film '' The Fall'' and 2005 film ''Chaos'' as well as Tess in the 1998 LWT adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and Estella ...

and Sharon Scurfield. The film is a remake of

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films ''Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Mana ...

's 1999 Danish box-office hit '' Den Eneste Ene''. Supported by the

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

to promote a positive image of the city, the story was reset in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

Plot

Two couples childless visit their doctor to discuss the matter. Stevie is married to Sonny, an Italian footballer who plays for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, but who has succumbed to frequent injury. He is desperate for a child, and it soon emerges that Stevie has not really been trying. She is reluctant to become pregnant as she does not want to get fat. Jenny and Neil are trying to adopt, as Neil is infertile. Being childless has turned Jenny into something of a monster, and Neil now views her with dislike. He wants to break with her but is too kind-hearted. He goes ahead with the plan to adopt to keep her happy. When Stevie meets Neil on the day he comes to deliver her brand new kitchen, it is already too late for

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

. Too late for both of them. Stevie is already five minutes pregnant by her Italian footballer husband. And too late for Neil, too - his wife Jenny has already applied to adopt an African girl. But too late or otherwise, love at first sight is exactly what happens. How can Neil and Stevie get out of their mistaken marriages and into each other's arms?

Cast

Reception

Neil Smith of the BBC gave it 1 out of 5 and wrote: "A love letter to Newcastle that, if nothing else, will be remembered for some of the worst accents ever heard in a British picture." Empire gave it 2 out of 5.

References

External links

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BBC News review
{{DEFAULTSORT:One and Only 2002 films 2002 romantic comedy films Films set in Newcastle upon Tyne Remakes of Danish films British romantic comedy films Films directed by Simon Cellan Jones 2000s English-language films 2000s British films English-language romantic comedy films