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Frankie and Johnny
When Johnny is released from prison following a forgery charge, he quickly lands a job as a short-order cook at a New York diner. Following a brief fling with waitress Cora, Frankie develops an attraction for Cora's friend and fellow waitress Frankie. While Frankie resists Johnny's charms initially, she eventually relents when her best friend, Tim, persuades her to give Johnny a chance.
Release : | 1991 |
Rating : | 6.7 |
Studio : | Paramount, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Al Pacino Michelle Pfeiffer Hector Elizondo Nathan Lane Jane Morris |
Genre : | Drama Comedy Romance |
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People are voting emotionally.
Instant Favorite.
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
This is one of the lesser known and appreciated screen gems of the 90's. It's a superior romantic-comedy-drama which stars screen legend Al Pacino and screen goddess Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie is so much more about the love story. It is a very perceptive movie about people who are lonely and people who are trapped into their own lives. The movie has an achingly melancholic mood. Pfeiffer was phenomenal and proved that she deserved the part. Her beauty was toned down to make her look as ordinary as possible. The character she played has so much depth and layer that is pretty uncommon for films generally regarded as romance films. Pacino of course was good, this is his and Pfeiffer's second team up after "Scarface" of course I love the fact that he played the role with such ease and charm which is a lot different from his more serious roles before. The supporting actors Nathan Lane and Kate Nelligan stole some scenes.There are some lovely moments,. I liked the scene in the flower market, where the two are standing together and the metal door slides up to display a dazzling backdrop of red and orange flowers. Also, the final scene with the toothbrushes and Claire de Lune is nicely done. Pfeiffer is particularly good here and Pacino backs her up all the way. Still there are so many hackneyed clichés. Perhaps its just that we have seen so many films, good ones in which people are more realistically portrayed that it's annoying to see so many old-timey stock types: the good hearted gay buddy, the good hearted but slutty waitress buddy, the good hearted Greek restaurant owner, the good hearted homely waitress buddy, the good-hearted Puerto-Rican busboy and the good-hearted black busboy. Then there are the good hearted clients. If they had gone for realistic characterizations of some of these people rather than going for heart-warming "types" this could have been a much better film. I blame Garry Marshall for this. Pacino and Pfeiffer did their best to bring some class to this film.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
You have to admit when watching this film , Johnny steals everyone's heart's. Who wouldn't like someone like Johnny in their lives? I mean the guy is just really the one to be with. Boy I'm so mind blown of Al Pacino's character, he is just literally romantic. As Bruno Mars has said in his song "Uptown Funk", Michele Pfeiffer definitely is pure gold and with this role, she killed it. She really knows how to act as a emotionally disturbed woman who has been through a lot. I mean, I honestly thought that she was a wimp for keep on saying no to him but, as the story goes, you really go deep on the reasons why she is finding life hard. That's what I like about this movie, it opens up reality such as domestic abuse. It really stands out on the issues we are facing in real life unfortunately. Thankfully Frankie met the wonderful Johnny and her next door neighbour left her abusive partner for his misery. I love this movie, it's so powerful and emotional that I think it should've been deserved an Oscar, not a nominated Golden Globe...
Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer) is an isolated waitress working at a greasy Manhattan diner with a cast of wacky characters. She's recovering from a bad marriage. Her best friend is gay neighbor Tim (Nathan Lane). Johnny (Al Pacino) recently got out of jail. Diner owner Nick (Héctor Elizondo) gives the ex-con a chance as the fry cook.There is a needed change when a romantic role written for Kathy Bates goes to Michelle Pfeiffer. The switch can be done smartly. Pfeiffer looks like a Hollywood starlet no matter how plain the makeup girls try to make her. The simple fix is every straight male character has to make a pass at her. It would be more believable and it would allow Frankie to reject every one of them. She would be alone by choice which fits her character perfectly. It's really weird when Pfeiffer asks why Pacino wants to go out with her. Get a mirror.If one ignores that problem, this is a pretty good romance with two of the best actors around. They deliver compelling performances. Pacino has a fun bit of prison sex. Pfeiffer's loneliness is palpable but her beauty does need acknowledgment by the movie.
Frankie and Johnny (1991) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Overly dramatic love story about a sad cook (Al Pacino) and a sad waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) trying to get together. I could probably go on for paragraphs talking about all the negative things this film has to offers. There's no doubt this is a flawed film but at the same time these flaws just add to some joy due to the great performances by the two leads. This is certainly no where near Pacino's best performance but I might call it his most underrated and most fun. After two decades of hard, dramatic roles it just seems like Pacino is having the time of his life doing "fun" stuff compared to various roles that I've been rewatching this month. The film is sweet and touching, even though the director goes overboard with some of the stuff, and the laughs are great as well. Not a great film by any means but one of my favorites.