Rating: 
Summary: An overlooked gem!
Review: Michelle Pfeiffer makes "Frankie and Johnny" an overlooked gem of a movie. She is fabulous in this movie! Al Pacino looks a bit uncomfortable, however, so it isn't perfect. Still, Garry Marshall has done an incredible job of making the transfer from a good play to an excellent film. The ensemble of a cast is well done and infectious. Most notable is Nathan Lane as Johnny's neighbor. He's a riot. There's a wonderful feeling through the entire movie, though, and with Michelle at her finest at the helm - you can't miss.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a nice feelgood film....
Review: Nothing new here. It's a new twist on the same old story of two people falling in love. My wife and I have been watching this a few times a year since the late 90's and we never quite get tired of it. Beautiful directing and a believable script lend to the enjoyment this film provides. We finally bought it because the video rental store was making too much from us on this one film.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the play...
Review: 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:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY
Review: ONCE AGAIN IT IS A GREAT MATCH FOR MICHELLE PFEIFFER ; THIS TIME WITH AL PACINO. YOU WONDER UP UNTIL THE END (& EVEN AT THE END YOU'RE NOT SURE) IF THESE 2 CAN MAKE IT WORK TOGETHER ; THEIR PAST IS HEAVY ON THEIR FUTURE & WE WANT TO WISH THEM ALL THE LUCK...
Rating:
Summary: Politically Correct Love
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Proves Michelle Pfeiffer is NOT just a pretty face!
Review: Saw this film when it first came out and though it takes about an hour to get into its best moments, it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Michelle Pfeiffer is a gifted actress. Pacino has never been more affable. For once, he doesn't take himself too seriously. And another plus is that these two stars had on-screen chemistry - a factor missing from Pfeiffer's pairings with Hollywood's leading men often, i.e. Robert Redford (UP CLOSE & PERSONAL)and recently Harrison Ford (WHAT LIES BENEATH.) The VHS I just bought is in lousy condition so tonite's much awaited viewing was "painful" for me. I hadn't seen the film since it was on the big screen about 10 yrs ago. It holds up well - it's completely character driven and though short on plot - it's believable. An added bonus was seeing my hometown - NYC looking good. This is clearly one of Garry Marshall's best directorial efforts - a small but good-to-the-last-drop flick. Final note on special features: seeing Nathan Lane begin what was to become a stellar career, as the gay-best-friend, for once-done well, in good taste, though. (Rupert Everett - take some notes here.) All in all well worth the 110 mins.
Rating:
Summary: "We're expecting another call from you any minute"
Review: Surprisingly subtle love story from director Garry Marshall. I think it tanked in theaters for the same reason I didn't see it until it went to video--I wasn't ready to accept Michelle Pfeiffer as a greasy-spoon waitress (or Al Pacino as a short-order cook). But I forgot that they can both act, and they do a wonderful job here. Nathan Lane is hilarious in a supporting role; he provides what might be the single funniest line that movie year.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could live in that Universe.
Review: The dialogs are a dream come true.
I heard some people were upset that Michelle Pfeiffer was cast as Frankie. Apparently the actress who played that character on stage was Kathy Bates and came to be regarded by many as definitive in that role. I'm sure she was terrific, and I loved her in "Dolores Claiborne", but as much as I sympathize with those who claim that it's all part of Hollywood's conspiracy to make ordinary women feel dissatisfied with their "real", ordinary bodies and faces, Michelle Pfeiffer - gorgeous as she is - is a sensitive, real performer, not a Barbie doll in any way, and though I couldn't be more different from her physically, I find it very easy to relate to her thanks to her talent. The movie is a gem, though every time I watch anything with Al Pacino in it I'm always counting the seconds for the "scream scene". I'm not sure I ever watched a movie in which he starred, that he didn't scream his head off at some point, and this one's no exception. One love scene is basically spoiled by it, although die hard fans can always make the case that the script was asking for it. No minor problems like this one can spoil the movie as a whole though, that's what's important.
Rating:
Summary: A true love story
Review: The way it really is. two people who aren't anything special at all. And they find one another and make it work despite everything else. because they have to. because they need something in their lives and this is the best thing coming around. Nice.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner for Hopeless Romantics Everywhere
Review: This 1991 movie is about Frankie, a woman who has given up on love after being hurt and abused by previous partners, and Johnny, her new co-worker who is out to rebuild his life and has fallen in love with her. Johnny can't get Frankie to try things out with him, however, despite all his efforts. Frankie has barricaded herself emotionally and would rather watch a movie by herself with a pizza than venture into the realm of dating. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Frankie, and Al Pacino plays Johnny, and the two prove that they've earned their fame with talented performances that wow the audience. This film version of Terrence McNally's 1987 stage hit Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune has received a great deal of criticism, but it is unwarranted and it truly is a sleeper hit that deserves accolades. Some people may avoid it because the idea of glamourous Michelle Pfeiffer and charming Al Pacino playing these life-battered losers is too far of a stretch, but seeing the movie will shatter that illusion, as they are convincing in their roles and their characters are emotionally compelling. The movie is peppered with great dialogue and humourous moments, which adds to its appeal. At one point, Johnny reminds Frankie of the song about two jealous lovers that bears their names. "Didn't they end up killing each other?" the cynical Frankie retorts. "She killed him," he answers, "so you have the edge." This movie delivers great performances, a great story, with realistic, complex characters that you can relate to. It is one of the best romantic comedies I've seen.
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