The Fantasticks

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David G The stage musical is wonderful, but it is an allegory and is structured be unrealistic. That’s the only way it works. The poor quality TV version with Ricardo Montalban and Susan Waston is far superior to this movie. I knew there was a problem when the took the narrator out and made him just El Gallo. The surreal breaking of the third wall is crucial to buy the simplicity of the story. The two house sets (watered down Terry Gilliam) are not enough to make subtext show through when most of the movie is too much like American realism. The show worked because it is simple and framed by the poetic narrator and song intros. Pretty enough but the singing is weak (or at least way to understated) and poorly balanced (when a four part song in round is sung, all four parts should be heard at all times). Skip the is movie and listen to the Jerry Orbach/Rita Gardner cast album OR the sixties TV version. Even with the lack of polish and truncated songs, the TV version captures the allegory of the show and its forced innocence far better. And no soprano does the ingenue better than Ms. Watson! Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 12/03/24 Full Review Steve D I don't know if it is the show or the adaptation, but it didn't work one bit. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved Jonathon Morris as El Gallo in The Fantasticks. Morris was charming, witty, a talented dancer, charismatic then abrupt, emotionally removed, distant. Perfect for the role. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review alex k My Favorite Film Is 1941's Citizen Kane. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member 2/3/13 This is a "cute" film. It is a classic broadway love story, but with some little twists. Some of the songs were catchy, but there isn't a ton of substance here. It is a little cheesy. I thought it was just OK. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The Fantasticks, based on the iconic off-Broadway musical, follows the story of two fathers who use reverse psychology in order to manipulate their children into marriage. Now, I have never seen the musical that this film was based on, but I feel that I can still fairly judge The Fantasticks on its own merits. Unfortunately, even without the most basic knowledge of the source material, The Fantasticks falls flat. The writer and director attempts to make the film odd and magical, but unfortunately it just comes off as creepy and needlessly dark due to over the top visuals and the inability of the writer to get down a clear and consistent tone. While the film has many great songs, for the most part the director is unable to find character actions that complement the music, causing the songs to harm the film's quality rather then help it. That said, I actually do like this film. Is it good? No. Is it entertaining? Hell, yes. I'm not sure if it's because the film is so bad, or if there it's because of the interesting plot and songs, or maybe just because of a charismatic performance by Jonathan Morris, but even though I acknowledge that the film is bad, I was incredibly entertained watching it. I guess that this film is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Despite the fact that I know I shouldn't like it, I enjoy it in spite of myself. While I perfectly understand why so many people dislike The Fantasticks (it is a bad film after all) I find some personal enjoyment out of watching it. Overall, while "The Fantasticks" does fall flat due to it's inconsistent tone and bizarre visuals, it's also very enjoyable based on how bad it is and the interesting premise. I recommend this film to anyone who either likes musicals, or finds a lot of enjoyment out of bad movies. I give The Fantasticks 3 out of 5 stars. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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