Rating: 
Summary: GO JOE!
Review: I have never seen the original play for The Fantasticks, but I felt that this movie rocked! It is a must for any musical fan and an ultimate must for any Joe McIntyre Fan!
Rating: 
Summary: A not-so "Fantastick" feature film
Review: After years of postponement, "The Fantasticks" was finally released as a feature film. I had been waiting for this since it was first announced in 1995. Five years later, I have to say I was vastly disappointed in this version of the world's longest running musical. If this is how American musicals are coming back to the silver screen, I'll stick to my classic movie channels with real movie spectacle. It wasn't worth the wait, or the money. I was recently involved in a production of the original show, and fell in love with it. From the minute I saw it, I understood why it has withstood forty years of theater. The prose, the songs, the simplicity, the initmacy of this little big show. And in true Hollywood style, they took everything good about the show and tossed it away. Some of the most endearing songs were either hacked down to sound bytes, or cut out completely. "Try to Remember," the hauting classic normally sung at the beginning and end of "The Fantasticks," was reduced to a minute and a half at the end, as an afterthought. What does it say when the song that is supposed to set the tone is the first thing to go? "Plant a Radish" a usual scene-stealer for Hucklebee and Bellamy was cut, completely. The film didn't seem to want more than one plot point for the length of the movie. El Gallo was no longer the omnipresent narrator with the wonderful prose that touches something deep within each audience member. He was an unentertaining, self-absorbed ringleader of a discount sidshow with an English accent that just added to his detached demeanor throughout the film. The fathers in the story were reduced to plot points and glorified props for the two lovers. They had their own story between each other and it was cut off at the knees. Two great veteran actors were wasted in this movie. Joel Grey, an entertainer with an illustrious performance career, was not used nearly enough. Barnard Hughes made a great Henry. However, he would have been even better, had they let him stick to the original script. The book for the show makes reference to Shakespeare's plays for a reason. There are inside jokes left and right in there that were completely eliminated. The screenplay, well, there's no nice way to put this: it sucked. No one but the kids seemed to grow emotionally in the movie. It was sad. El Gallo wasn't even likable, as quick and sarcastic as he was. By the way, it should be required that to do that part, you should have to be able to sing above a whisper. All in all, the cast would have been just fine in the stage version. This cast (sans Jonathon Morris), could mount the live production, with all of its metaphors and deeper meaning than at first glance, and come away with a performance worthy of this show's tradition. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, could have saved this film from being a disaster. I would place the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of the director and his "vision". Save yourself the pain, go see a live production and enjoy the sounds of September.
Rating: 
Summary: Not "Fantastick" in the theatre, either
Review: In response to Mr. Haas' review, I saw THE FANTASTICKS in the theatre, and it was no great treat there, either. The idea of setting an extremely intimate in the middle of the prairie, thereby robbing it of its intimacy, is absurd. The script has been completely overhauled, losing its poetry and rhythms. The score has also been slashed, dropping verses and songs (the Fathers' PLANT A RADISH going by the way; a rewrite of lyrics for METAPHOR that manage to drop the metaphors altogether) with abandon. The best parts are Jonathan Tunick's marvelous orchestrations, Joel Gray, and Teller's death scene. All else is faintly embarassing.
Rating:
Summary: Not "fantastick" on VHS
Review: It's very sad that I will never get to see this movie in the movie theatre. I live in Minneapolis and THE FANTASTICKS is only being given a very limited theatrical release and it's not coming here. My sense is that the distributors have ignorantly decided that this movie won't make any money so they're not going to give it a wide release. It's utterly ridiculous for the powers at be to think that there aren't a lot of people that would love to see this movie on the big movie screen. The movie musical genre is slowly remerging and gaining popularity and studio execs and distributors are out of touch. The fact that another recent movie musical DANCER IN THE DARK won several prestigious awards at the Cannes Film Festival indicates the coming of a new wave of film musicals. What is even sadder is that the VHS home video version of THE FANTASTICKS is a waste of time and a joke. I will never be able to see this movie in it's original widescreen Panavision splendor because the bozos behind the production of the home video version chose to release it in the horrific pan and scan format. There seems to be no widescreen version planned for THE FANTASTICKS either on VHS or DVD. This is an utter abomination and insult to this movie and it's creators. Why the director Michael Ritchie has no interest in making a widescreen version available completely appalls me. I started watching the video version (a friend got an advance copy) and I stopped watching half way thru. It was too upsetting to watch atrocities made by panning and scanning this film. Also, when I found out that several beautiful dance sequences were cut even before the movie opened in New York I was outraged. Was this because someone thought the movie would make more money? Yeah right. This film was never meant to be a "blockbuster". So why not keep the dances and the song, "Plant a Radish" in tact in the movie? Especially in a deluxe DVD version. If the owners of the video rights are clumsy and stupid and release THE FANTASTICKS on DVD panned and scanned only, no one will buy it. Lovers of the musical and DVD collectors will be completely uninterested. As for this crappy video version I will not be wasting my time in renting it or ever buying it. This film should be preserved in it's complete splendor and this pathetic VHS effort isn't even close. It's a complete embarrassment to the renowned musical play and it's film treatment!
Rating:
Summary: Not 'Fantastick' At All
Review: This movie is in no way "The Fantasticks" musical theatre fans have come to know and love. With a different cast of kids, an absolutely no cuts, this movie might have been successful. Grey and Sullivan were perfectly cast and should have played the roles onstage together. The role of El Gallo was miscast, but it's Hollywood. The rewrite of "Mystery" was absolutely horrid and should never be heard again. I thought it was a bad joke. Maybe with a little imagination they could come up with a more suitable "Fantasticks" for film audiences.
Rating:
Summary: A most excellent sleeping pill
Review: I'm generally not much on musicals. Classics like "Mary Poppins" and "Fiddler On the Roof" are notable exceptions. This having been a massively popular stage play of great renown, well, I figured I'd give it a try.
So much for that idea. The dimwits behind this production decided to drop the "Fantasicks" traveling carnival troupe into the middle of nowhere, literally, with no town in sight. The only humans within miles, apparently, are two single fathers and their teenage kids (one boy, one girl, one per father) who live next door in this prairieland and share a fence and feud over it. What, they couldn't move a few miles apart?
And these are just the impenetrable bits of ludricous nonsense that occur within the opening credits. Then there's the direction and cinematography, which could basically be easily mistaken for a third-rate cable movie of the week. Bleah.
The only "fantastick" thing about this flick is that its current rating by Amazon users is three stars. Are the cast and crew stuffing the ballot box? Absolutely horrible, a nearly lifeless production.
Rating:
Summary: Magic destroyed
Review: Any lover of this show would be devastated at what this film turned out to be. It is one of those shows that perhaps should have been filmed while being performed live (ala Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, etc.). The magic of this show while seeing it live in a small space is that it creates a world out of nothing, and the audience gets totally caught up in it.
I couldn't wait to see this film when I heard it was made. It was the first show in which I ever appeared, and I have designed costumes and seen many productions of it. Even the worst ones came across better than this film. I'm crushed.
If you have seen this musical on stage anywhere, keep the memory of that magical time and don't bother with this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: JOE is Great!
Review: I loved this movie! It was great to see Joe in a movie after the New Kids broke up. If you love Joe as much as I do, you have to see this movie! Also check out his new CD 8:09! It's Great!
Rating:
Summary: My Nominee for worst movie musical of all time.
Review: A complete and utter stinker. Totally lacking in charm. This show has only one good song: Try to Remember. The other songs are the worst show tunes you will ever hear. The clue should be titles like Plant A Radish and The Rape Song. The cast is dismal. Joe McIntyre has no appeal whatsoever. Where did they dig up this guy? I hope to NEVER see him again. There really isn't a plot: two fathers pretend to have a feud so that their children will get together romantically. The children get together but immediately begin fighting. Something vague happens to them and they wind up together. Huh? Boring! It is sad to see a talented performer like Joel Grey completely wasted in a production this pathetic. The Arizona scenery is kind of nice. Avoid this one like the plague. P. S. This one deserves NO STARS!
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