One Fine Day is a 1996 romantic comedy film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney. The film is about a hectic day that gradually transforms the mutual antagonism between two single working parents - a feisty architect (Pfeiffer) with a son, and a snide political columnist (Clooney) with a daughter - into love. The title comes from the 1963 song "One Fine Day" by The Chiffons.

Plot

Melanie Parker (Pfeiffer) and Jack Taylor (Clooney) are both single parents stuck with their children on a hectic working day. Melanie, an architect, has a big presentation later in the day, has a son, Sammy (Alex D. Linz). Jack is a reporter for the New York Daily News who has his daughter Maggie (Mae Whitman) thrust on him by his ex-wife, who is leaving on her honeymoon with her new husband.

Whereas Melanie is very goal-oriented and driven, Jack is much more laid back. Because Jack forgets to call Melanie to let her know that he'll be bringing Maggie to school, both parents come late to their children's school. The school is closed because everyone is taking a field trip on the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises boat. Racing to the pier, they are too late - the boat has left without them. Melanie can't find anyone to take care of Sammy. Having no other choice, both parents go their separate ways with their children. However, their day is about to get even more hectic. Jack's job is threatened by his editor Lew (Charles Durning), because Jack's big story - linking the Mayor of New York City with mob corruption - is about to be retracted, since Jack's single source is backing away from the story. Melanie, meanwhile, has part of her model display broken by Sammy's dropping things on the ground, causing Melanie to drop her model. Both parents then drop their children off at a day-care center, where Melanie sees Jack trying to cheer his daughter up and where Melanie shows her quick sewing skills in making impromptu costumes for the children (as the children at the day-care center are having 'Superhero Day').

Melanie goes off to her meeting with her boss and a potential client, while Jack tracks down his source and has to find another one by the end of the day. Melanie agrees to meet her boss and the new clients at Club 21 at 5:30, even though Sammy and Maggie are supposed to take part in a big soccer game at the end of the day. When Melanie gets a phone call from Sammy at the day-care center that one of the children mentioned LSD, she calls Jack in desperation and asks him to pick up the kids. Jack acquieses and picks the kids up, meeting Melanie after her meeting at 3:15 in the lobby of a building by Rockefeller Center. Melanie then takes care of the kids while Jack attempts to track down the wife of the head of Sanitation, who can provide the proof he needs to back his story up. Jack is successful in finding the wife, though he still has to confront the mayor at a press conference at 5 PM later that day. Melanie, meanwhile, entertains the kids. When Maggie runs off, following a small kitten, Melanie panics and goes to the police. Realizing that she needs to confront Jack at some point, she goes off to the Mayor's press conference with Sammy in tow.

As Jack is on his way to the press conference, he gets a call from the police, letting him know that they found Maggie. He goes to the store where Maggie has been playing with the kittens. When he tries to pull Maggie away from the kittens, though, she starts crying. Jack spends some moments with Maggie, comforting her by agreeing to have one of the kittens stay with him in his apartment, and talking about putting a bed in his bachelor pad for Maggie to stay whenever she wants. At the press conference, the Mayor insinuates that he'll sue Jack for falsely claiming he had ties to the mob. Melanie attempts to stall the Mayor, but the Mayor starts walking off just as Jack and Maggie come in. Jack is able to still confront the Mayor, getting his source, Elaine Lieberman, to come at the last second with the proof that the Mayor's re-election campaign cashed a check for $250,000 from a mob front.

Vindicated, Jack and Melanie go off to the soccer game. However, Melanie makes a detour to the meeting with the new clients, not wanting to disappoint her boss - despite the fact that if they come too late, Sammy and Maggie won't get a trophy for having played in the game. While talking with the clients, Melanie sees Jack goofing around with the kids out the window and finally realizes that her son needs to come before work. She makes a quick exit, fearing that her boss will fire her. However, the client is impressed with her spunk, thus implying that she will not only keep her job, but get the raise she needs to better take care of Sammy.

At the soccer game, Melanie's ex-husband (a drummer, who spent the day in a studio recording) shows up to watch the game. Both Sammy and Maggie get trophies for their playing in the game, and Jack, Melanie and their children leave in the rain. Later that night, Jack and Maggie come over to Melanie's apartment. Earlier in the day, Melanie was supposed to return some goldfish to the school, but the fish were eaten by a cat at the newspaper office. Jack buys replacement fish and offers the fish to Melanie, and the two of them start talking while the kids watch The Wizard of Oz in the bedroom. After some awkward moments, both Jack and Melanie start to kiss, but then Melanie excuses herself to change and look better for Jack. When she gets out of the bathroom, she sees that Jack has fallen asleep on the couch. Melanie sits next to Jack and soon falls asleep next to him. Sammy and Maggie come out of the bedroom and giggle while watching their parents sleeping together on the couch holding each other.

Cast

• Michelle Pfeiffer .... Melanie Parker
• George Clooney .... Jack Taylor
• Mae Whitman .... Maggie Taylor
• Alex D. Linz .... Sammy Parker
• Charles Durning .... Lew
• Ellen Greene .... Mrs. Elaine Lieberman
• Amanda Peet .... Celia
• Joe Grifasi .... Manny Feldstein
• Anna Maria Horsford .... Evelyn
• Sheila Kelly .... Kristen
• Gregory Jbara .... Metro Reporter
• Holland Taylor ... Rita

Reception

One Fine Day received mixed reviews (it has a rating of 44% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews) and was considered a "definite" commercial disappointment by Twentieth Century Fox.

Trivia

The name of Clooney's character, Jack Taylor, is an homage both to author and chronicler of 'the wild' Jack London, and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins- Clooney's favourite author and musician respectively.

Soundtrack

One Fine Day: Music From The Motion Picture is the soundtrack for the film. The album peaked at # 57 on The Billboard 200 in 1997.

Track listing

1. "One Fine Day" - Natalie Merchant
2. "The Boy from New York City" - The Ad Libs
3. "For the First Time" - Kenny Loggins
4. "Mama Said" - The Shirelles
5. "Someone Like You" - Shawn Colvin
6. "Love's Funny That Way" - Tina Arena
7. "Have I Told You Lately" - Van Morrison
8. "The Glory of Love" - Keb' Mo'
9. "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" - Tony Bennett
10. "Isn't It Romantic?" - Ella Fitzgerald
11. "This Guy's in Love with You" - Harry Connick, Jr.
12. "Just like You" - Keb' Mo'
13. "One Fine Day" - The Chiffons
14. "Suite From One Fine Day" - James Newton Howard

References

1. "One Fine Day", Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2009-01-13.
2. Shaw, Jessica. "Pop Culture News: Christmas Wrap-Up", Entertainment Weekly, 1997-01-10. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.

External links