Fantasy Life

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2:15

Fantasy Life

R

In Theaters Mar 27

1h 31m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

10 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters and falls for the girls' mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage. A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.

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In Theaters Mar 27

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Matthew Shear

Director

Amanda Peet

Dianne

Matthew Shear

Sam

Alessandro Nivola

David

Judd Hirsch

Fred

Bob Balaban

Lenny

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

03/14/2025

A comedy that doesn’t just give Amanda Peet a comeback role but might feature her best screen work to date.

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Angie Han

The Hollywood Reporter

03/12/2025

With Amanda Peet in a remarkable star turn, it marks a promising debut for writer-director Matthew Shear.

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Stephen Saito

Variety

03/12/2025

It isn’t hyperbole to say that Amanda Peet gives the performance of a lifetime in “Fantasy Life.”

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

6d

3.5/5

Why I’m pulling for Shear in the future: He drew out the finest performance of Peet’s career. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Peet is one of the most underrated performers of her generation. Her range here is off the charts.

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Stephen Silver

Broad Street Review

Nov 21

Shear’s protagonist is, by far, the least interesting character in the movie. I was much more interested in the arc of Peet’s character

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Ryan McQuade

AwardsWatch

Apr 14

B

Peet’s Dianne, a middle aged actress wanting to recapture the magic of her career from just a few years ago, is easily the best work of her career...

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MADELEINE T

@Madalone Mar 5

Do not hesitate to NOT see this film. A boring, naval gazing plot about dysfunctional people who view themselves as losers (in that respect, I agree with them) and who spend lots of time and money on psych meds and kvetching to head shrinks. Add to that a helping of Jewish stereotypes and voila! - Fantasy Life in a nutshell. Amanda Peet, to her credit, does manage to give her character (a self centered ungrateful has been actress) more depths than the role actually deserves.

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Jon W

@JonnyTomato Mar 5

An epic bore. It takes incredible endurance and determination to listen to rich upper west side types whine about their miserable lives for 90 minutes. Not one likable character. This movie has the thinnest veneer of a plot. I could not wait to get out of the theater and return home to fold laundry.

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Fantasy Life: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters and falls for the girls' mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage. A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.

Director: Matthew Shear
Producer: Charlie Alderman, Christopher Dodds, Amanda Peet, Phil Keefe, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
Screenwriter: Matthew Shear
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Prospect Avenue, Burn Later Productions, Made By Limbo, AC3 Media, Charlie's Production Company
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 31m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)