My One and Only - 3 smiles

Where Demetri Martin (“Taking Woodstock”) does not have enough screen presence to engage our attention or compete with stronger personalities, 17-year-old Logan Lerman, who stars with Renee Zellweger in “My One and Only,” has the magnetism necessary to anchor this movie. Inspired by incidents in the life of actor George Hamilton, Lerman plays 15-year-old George, who, along with his older half-brother, Robbie (Mark Rendell), is pulled out of school by their mother Anne (Zellweger) in the summer of 1953. Anne, disillusioned with her philandering bandleader husband (Kevin Bacon), decides to hit the road in search of a new life and a new man. Their travels take them to Boston, Pittsburgh and St. Louis as Anne attempts to charm a former boyfriend (Steven Weber), an army colonel (Chris Noth) and a storeowner (a funny David Koechner). George’s interests lie in writing, but their continual movement prevents him from making any connections in school. Finally, they head to Hollywood.

Directed by Richard Loncraine, “My One and Only” has a classy look from the 1953 powder-blue Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible that conveys mother and sons from place to place to the authentic costumes Zellweger wears. And Zellweger is enjoyable to watch. Her Ann is a beautiful woman who’s used to getting her way even if she often refuses to recognize that at her age, she can’t just jump into the marriage market and compete with younger women. Zellweger acknowledges Ann’s fears and plays her as a strong woman. Although Lerman is the straight man to Zellweger’s Southern Belle and Rendell’s gay actor brother, he’s articulate enough and strong enough to hold his own with the adults. “My One and Only” is a heart-warming late summer movie and worth seeing. 8/27/09