Jennifer Lopez Movie:

Editorial Review:
Having opened off-Broadway in 1960 and still going strong, The Fantasticks would seem a natural for the movies. Or would it? The musical's charm hangs on a particular kind of intimate magic incubated exclusively in live theater. This didn't stop the chiefs of rudderless United Artists from bankrolling a film version in 1995, closely scripted from the play by original authors Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. With the movie finished, the studio deduced there was no mass audience for the old-fashioned, stage-struck musical, and promptly set it on the shelf for five years.

A slimmer version of the film was briefly released to theaters in 2000, after being cut by Francis Coppola (with the approval of director Michael Ritchie). The cutting, sometimes within songs, seems capricious--if the movie was destined to be a flop either way, why not let it play out at full length? All of this ought to set off alarm bells... and yet, it turns out there's a bit of theatrical pixie dust left in the old thing after all. Ritchie and topnotch cinematographer Fred Murphy shoot many of the songs beautifully, setting them in the film's postcard-Midwest magic hour (best seen on the widescreen DVD). The genial tone, though admittedly precious, makes for a pleasant ride. It's a movie preadolescent girls can watch with their grandmothers without embarrassment on either side. Playing the archetypal boy and girl are former New Kid on the Block Joe McIntyre and Mr. Holland's Opus songbird Jean Louisa Kelly; he fits the part of an amiable doofus very well, while Kelly has the breathless dreaminess of youth and an intriguing undercurrent of restlessness. Their feuding fathers are the able Joel Grey and Brad Sullivan, and Jonathan Morris looks every inch the carnival maestro who gives these simple folk a glimpse at their dreams. Curiously, the show's signature song ("Try to Remember") is given only an abbreviated airing at the end. And how dare they cut "Plant a Radish"? --Robert Horton

The Fantasticks Reviews:
Terrible
2009-08-17 - The charm of the play rests in it's intimacy- a pretty, simple metaphorical tale of innocent lost and love realized. This movie destroys the spirit of the play. Old men sport giant plastic breasts, slapstick tries to take the place of witty dialogue and visuals try for "updated realism". In the pivotal role, Jonathon Morris's hair does more acting than the rest of him. This movie has many sins (cutting the role of narrator, switching and deleted songs, cinematography similar to any number of lifetime movies) but by far the worst is being boring.

The Fantastisks is magical!
2009-07-14 - The Golden Age of movie musicals of the 1930s - 1950s is long gone. However, once in awhile, we are treated to an exceptional musical. A few come to mind: West Side Story 1961, The Music Man (1962), My Fair Lady (1964), Sound Of Music (1965), Oliver! (1968), The Boy Friend (1971), Fiddler On The Roof (1971), Cabaret 1972, Pennies From Heaven (1981), Moulin Rouge (2001), Chicago (2002) and The Phantom Of The Opera (2004). I'd like to add The Fantasticks (1995) to this list. It is visually stunning, it sounds great and has a magical quality that is absorbing and mesmerizing. I believe it is not meant for everyone, but that is very true of each and every musical listed here. I am drawn to this film and find it more rewarding and appealing with each viewing. It is true that the show's most popular song, Try To Remember is abbreviated, but it is beautifully done and there is an alternate version and a deleted version available on the disc. This was also a complaint in A Chorus Line (1985) with it's most popular song, What I Did For Love. Perhaps the powers that be, felt that these popular songs would date the films. In any event, if you love musicals, I think you will find much to cherish with The Fantasticks.
(By the way, A Chorus Line is another enjoyable musical, but the film suffers by mis-casting Michael Douglas and then diverting too much attention with his relationship with the Cassie character). Back to The Fantasticks! Don't be put off by the unwarranted and surprisingly nasty comments by detractors. Watch the film and decide for yourself.

Francis Ford Coppola hack job
2009-06-20 - Unlike some of the reviewers, I actually like Jonathon Morris' interpretation of El Gallo. I do wish we could get a director's cut, with the musical score intact -- cutting the opening "Try to Remember" was an unforgivable blunder. The scenes with the cop added something. Joel Grey was good, but I do wish they had found two father actors who could carry a tune.

If You Liked the Play
2009-03-28 - If you liked the play, you would like the movie production of it where there is time to savor details that otherwise can fly by quickly on stage. The extras on the DVD, that includes a commentary, provide additional enjoyment for follow-up. Recommended reading: other comments on the play available on internet websites, including Amazon.

A cottom candy romance of a musical
2008-12-09 - This film seems to have never found an audience.
I think it may have been the casting of Jean Louisa Kelly
in the lead role. Although she is beautiful and talented,
that is an acquired taste by those who know her work.
The almost too slick stagging would have learned something from
the musical "Oklahoma" in depicting the Midwestern American community.
The carnival never has an carnival "feel" to it
that it should have had like in "State Fair".
In this case failure may not have been a learning experience?