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Rating:  -
I saw this in 1991 when I was in middle school and I instantly fell in love with the movie. This film introduced me to romantic comedies and though I am not a fan of most films of this genre this one has a lot of heart and soul.
Al Pacino took a break from his usual cop/crook roles to play Johnny, a sweet ex-con with a bruised heart. He's a kindred spirit looking for someone else to share his lonely life with. Michelle Pheiffer is the same kindred spirit except Frankie has been so bruised she can not get back. Frankie and Johnny go through twists and turns before Frankie agrees to go out on a date. The more Frankie sees into Johnny's world she realizes he's the one person who can help her move past her former relationship with a man who beat her. This actually scares Frankie even more and she does her best to fight Johnny's advances but ultimately cannot fight her own heart.
This movie is the perfect date movie all rolled into one. It would have been a great family movie except for the thrown in sex scene between Johnny and Cora. I didn't agree with that because it didn't belong in a wholesome movie like this. The set up of the diner was refreshing and it was good to see a film where everyone was struggling for paychecks and not living in mansions and driving fancy cars. I am not from New York but I got a true sense of New York life after seeing this movie. The director ( Garry Marshall) had just come off of his super hit with Pretty Woman and proved he still had the touch of gold when it came to romantic movies.
The cast was wonderful. I enjoyed Al Pacino's innocent betrayal of Johnny and he brought in a lot of himself into the character. Michelle Pfeiffer was good as well. I just wished Frankie hadn't have been so grumpy because it was hard for me to warm up to her at first. But I realized Frankie was the way she was because of the hardships in her life. This is a movie for anyone to enjoy: young, middle-aged, senior, black, white, asian. It's one of those movies that doesn't provide any culture gaps or society gaps. It's just a nice love story where anyone can relate.
Everyone has had to struggle with emotions or money and everyone has fallen in love some time or another. This film combines all those elements into a breathtaking movie. If that's not enough for you to see it, check it out for the supporting characters. Nathan Lane is a hoot. Everyone should see this film at least once.
Rating:  -
OK, granted I am in love with the stage version of this movie. Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was just so magnificent when seen live. I had read the play before seeing both the film and stage versions, and was somewhat impressed. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed this play, but I felt the dialogue didn't flow naturally, and the play was cramped. That was just my initial feeling after reading it. I then saw the film version, and was liking the play even more so. The film just did not add up to the play for several reasons which I will explain in just a minute. I was then smiled upon one day when I heard that the play was closing on Broadway and someone close to me got me tickets. I sat there during the closing performance watching Rosie Perez (White Men Can't Jump), and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies, The Matrix, and tv's The Sopranos) play these characters with such depth and such meaning that I could not help letting this play slip into the number one spot on my long list of favorite plays. It was absolutly incredible just seeing the transformation from the page to the stage, and for 2 hours it seemed like i was in heaven.
Now, onto the movie. I am actually torturing myself and watching it again. I don't know why i am, but nonetheless i am. First of all, Michelle Pfeiffer should never have played Frankie. Frankie is a strong woman who has gonethrough a good deal of stuff. Pfeiffer is too fair and too pretty to play such a gutsy role. Well, i shouldn't say that. Look at Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Pfeiffer just did not give across that weathered feeling that Frankie emulates. Al Pacino was extremely creepy as Johnny. Johnny is an extremely vibrant man, with an eccentric, and flamboyant personality. Pacino made the character too much of a mafia man, when all that Johnny needs to be is a little bizarre. My biggest complaint was just how little of the original play was in the film. It just did not need all of the backstory or theextra characters. It is very annoying having all of them. Part of the beauty of the play was that it took course over one night, and nobody else interfered with them falling in love with one another. I honestly felt that if the movie stuck closer to the actual play, it would have been an amazing masterpiece of a movie. Instead, with Gary Marshall helming the movie as director, it just becomes another Pretty Woman-esque movie, and that gets extremely trite after a while. I would recommend to anybody to read the play, and listen to DeBussy's Clair de Lune when you finish. Don't waste your time with this mess when you can experience it in much better fashion when you read it.
Rating:  -
Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer have wonderful chemistry! Pacino plays Johnny, an ex con who just happens to have gotten out of jail. Pfeiffer plays Frankie, a waitress with a really bad romantic history. Johnny meets Frankie when he applies for the short-order cook position at the diner, owned and run by Hector Elizondo's character. Instantly, he has a crush on her but Frankie rebuffs his advances. The two have remarkable chemistry...and there are some funny scenes that will make you laugh as well.
Rating: -
I keep on watching this DVD over and over again. Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer are really good. As the story goes, little by little, it is as if you were a part of their life. I am totally hooked to this movie. I guess it is because I can find my own fears in Michelle Pfeiffer's character but even so it is the only movie that effects me so much each time. It is a pure peace of art. It is simple, basic but it hits you straight to the heart. Don't miss it !!
Rating: -
Ostensibly a love story, this film incorporates as many politically correct stances on the issues as just about any film ever made. It starts out with sexual harassment, then adds wife beating, criminal rights, the death penalty, and more. Of course, we get sympathetic portrayals of women, ethnic/racial minorities, criminals and gays, but there is not one law-abiding heterosexual White male portrayed favorably in this film.
The characters are not at all believable. Someone with Michelle Pfeiffer's looks working in a greasy, Westside diner? Yeah, right! In my thirteen years in New York City, I've never seen it. A woman like that would have doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and investment bankers falling all over her. At worst, if she had no education, she'd end up behind the cosmetic counter at Saks Fifth Avenue.
And we're supposed to believe that Al Pacino did hard time in a maximum security prison (while in prison, he befriended a murderer who was executed) for a first-offense, bad check.
The film pretends to be about ex-con Al Pacino pursuing Pfeiffer. Does he get her in the end? If, without seeing this movie, you can't predict the answer to that one, then maybe this film is your speed.
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