One Fine Day (1996 film)

One Fine Day
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Hoffman
Written by	Terrel Seltzer Ellen Simon
Produced by	Lynda Obst
Starring	Michelle Pfeiffer George Clooney Mae Whitman Charles Durning
Cinematography	Oliver Stapleton
Edited by	Garth Craven
Music by	James Newton Howard
Production companies	Lynda Obst Productions Via Rosa Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	December 20, 1996 (1996-12-20)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$97.5 million [1]

One Fine Day is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Hoffman, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. Alex D. Linz and Mae Whitman play their children. The title comes from the 1963 song "One Fine Day" by Carole King, 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. ^[2]

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song ("For the First Time").

Plot

Melanie Parker is an architect whose day gets off to a bad start when she is late to drop off her son Sammy at school, due to the forgetfulness of fellow divorced father Jack Taylor, a New York Daily News reporter whose daughter, Maggie, is thrust into his care that morning by his former wife who leaves to go on her honeymoon with her new husband. The children arrive just a moment too late to go on a school field trip, a Circle Line boat cruise. Their parents realize that, on top of hectically busy schedules, they must work together that day to supervise the children. In the confusion of sharing a taxi, they accidentally switch cell phones, causing each of them, all morning, to receive calls intended for the other one, which they then have to relay to the other person.

Melanie must make an architectural design presentation to an important client. Jack has to find a source for a scoop on the New York mayor's mob connections. Sammy causes havoc at Melanie's office with his toy cars, causing her to trip and break her scale model display. In frustration, she takes him to a day care center (which is having a "Superhero Day"), where she coincidentally comes across Jack trying to convince Maggie to stay and behave herself. They create impromptu costumes for the children, using his imagination and her resourcefulness. She takes her model to a shop to get it quickly repaired. Having left for a meeting, she panics when she receives a phone call from Sammy about another child having a psychedelic drug. She phones Jack in desperation and asks him to pick up the children. He agrees, on the condition that she take over their care at 3:15 while he chases down a potential news source.

While in Melanie's care, Maggie goes missing from a store and wanders some distance down a crowded midtown sidewalk. Melanie breaks down in despair at the police station, files a missing child report, and then goes to a mayoral press conference to find Jack. He is notified by the police that Maggie has been found, and makes it to the press conference just barely in time to confront the mayor with his scoop about corruption. He had earlier tracked down its source, just as she was leaving a beauty salon in a limousine. Although they have been antagonistic, Melanie and Jack work together to take the children, by taxi, to a soccer game. She insists that she will have time first to do her presentation to the new clients, despite him protesting that it will make them late for the game. She begins her pitch over drinks at the 21 Club lounge, but upon seeing Sammy in high spirits, she realizes that she cares more about him than her job. Insisting that she must leave immediately to be with him, she fully expects to be fired, but the clients are impressed.

At the game, Melanie meets with her former husband, Eddie, a musician; he informs her that he will not be able to take Sammy fishing in the summer as he will be touring as a drummer with Bruce Springsteen instead. That evening, Jack wants a reason to visit Melanie's apartment, so he takes Maggie to buy goldfish to replace the ones that were eaten earlier in the day by a cat. At Melanie's apartment, the children watch The Wizard of Oz while she and Jack share a first kiss. She goes to the bathroom to freshen up; when she returns, an exhausted Jack is asleep on the sofa. She joins him and they fall asleep together, with the children happily observing.

Cast

• Michelle Pfeiffer as Melanie Parker
• George Clooney as Jack Taylor
• Mae Whitman as Maggie Taylor
• Alex D. Linz as Sammy Parker
• Charles Durning as Lew
• Jon Robin Baitz as Yates Jr.
• Ellen Greene as Elaine Lieberman
• Joe Grifasi as Manny Feldstein
• Pete Hamill as Frank Burroughs
• Anna Maria Horsford as Evelyn
• Gregory Jbara as Freddy
• Sheila Kelley as Kristen
• Barry Kivel as Yates Sr.
• Robert Klein as Dr. Martin
• Michael Badalucco as Lieutenant Bonomo
• George Martin as Smith Leland
• Michael Massee as Eddie
• Amanda Peet as Celia
• Bitty Schram as Marla
• Holland Taylor as Rita
• Rachel York as Liza
• Marianne Muellerleile as Ruta
• Sid Armus as Mayor Aikens

Production

Clooney's character did not exist in the script's original draft. Producer Lynda Obst explained the change: "We were being incredibly sexist. There are plenty of divorced, single working fathers going through the exact same thing." The studios initially wanted Kevin Costner or Tom Cruise to portray Jack Taylor, but they passed and Clooney ultimately received the part. The film was shot in 44 Manhattan locations. ^[3]

Soundtrack

One Fine Day: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by various artists
Released	December 10, 1996
Length	52:22
Label	Columbia

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

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.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist	Length
1.	"One Fine Day"	Carole King Gerry Goffin	Natalie Merchant	2:45
2.	"The Boy from New York City"	George Davis John T. Taylor	The Ad Libs	3:01
3.	"For the First Time"	James Newton Howard Jud J. Friedman Allan Rich	Kenny Loggins	4:30
4.	"Mama Said"	Luther Dixon Willie Denson	The Shirelles	2:09
5.	"Someone Like You"	Van Morrison	Shawn Colvin	4:11
6.	"Love's Funny That Way"	Tina Arena Dean McTaggart David Tyson	Tina Arena	4:37
7.	"Have I Told You Lately"	Morrison	Van Morrison	4:20
8.	"The Glory of Love"	William Hill	Keb' Mo'	2:58
9.	"What a Diff'rence a Day Made"	María Mendez Grever Stanley Adams	Tony Bennett	2:28
10.	"Isn't It Romantic?"	Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart	Ella Fitzgerald	3:02
11.	"This Guy's in Love with You"	Burt Bacharach Hal David	Harry Connick Jr.	3:48
12.	"Just like You"	Kevin Moore John Lewis Parker	Keb' Mo'	3:28
13.	"One Fine Day"	King Goffin	The Chiffons	2:10
14.	"Suite from One Fine Day"	Howard	James Newton Howard	8:55
Total length:				52:22

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [4]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Reception

Box office

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 . ^[5]

Critical response

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." ^[6] It was considered a commercial disappointment by Twentieth Century Fox. ^[7]

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." ^[8]

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." ^[9]

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." ^[10]

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." ^[2]

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." ^[11]

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." ^[12]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1997	Academy Awards	Best Original Song	"For the First Time" Music and Lyrics by James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich	Nominated	[13]
	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	Favorite Actress – Comedy/Romance	Michelle Pfeiffer	Won	[14]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Original Song	"For the First Time" Music and Lyrics by James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich	Nominated	[15]
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actress	Michelle Pfeiffer	Nominated	[14]
	Young Artist Awards	Best Family Feature Film – Musical or Comedy		Won	[16]
		Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actor Age Ten or Under	Alex D. Linz	Nominated
		Best Performance in a Feature Film: Actress Age Ten or Under	Mae Whitman	Won
	YoungStar Awards	Best Young Actor in a Comedy Film	Alex D. Linz	Won	[17]
		Best Young Actress in a Comedy Film	Mae Whitman	Nominated
1998	Grammy Awards	Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television	"For the First Time" James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, and Allan Dennis Rich (songwriters)	Nominated	[18]

References

1. "One Fine Day (1996)". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
2. Turan, Kenneth (December 20, 1996). "'Fine Day' a Dawning for Clooney" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
3. Hruska, Bronwen (December 18, 1996). "Working Parents' Travail Informs 'One Fine Day'". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
4. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – One Fine Day". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 16, 2022.
5. Elber, Lynn (December 26, 1996). "'Beavis and Butt-head' sets record". AP Entertainment Writer. The South Bend Tribune. p. 41. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "One Fine Day". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
7. Shaw, Jessica (January 10, 1997). "Pop Culture News: Christmas Wrap-Up". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
8. Maslin, Janet (December 20, 1996). "Meet. Fight. Fall in Love. What a Day!" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
9. Ebert, Roger (December 20, 1996). "One Fine Day". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022– via RogerEbert.com.
10. Kempley, Rita (December 20, 1996). "A Sweet 'One Fine Day'". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
11. Guthmann, Edward (December 20, 1996). "'One Fine Day' Is Forgettable Fun". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
12. Nelson, Rob (December 19, 1996). "Archives 1996". Boston Phoenix . Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
13. "The 69th Academy Awards | 1997". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
14. "One Fine Day (1996) – Awards". imdb.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
15. "One Fine Day". Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
16. "18th Youth In Film Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
17. Ellis, Rick (May 4, 1997). "1997's 2nd Annual Young Star Awards". AllYourTV.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
18. "40th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy Awards . Retrieved May 1, 2011.

External links

• One Fine Day at IMDb  
• One Fine Day at Box Office Mojo