.gif)
The Fantasticks (film)
Encyclopedia
The Fantasticks is a 1995 musical film
directed by Michael Ritchie
. The screenplay
by Tom Jones
and Harvey Schmidt
is based on their record-breaking off-Broadway production of the same name
, which ran for 17,162 performances. The two also composed the score's songs.
) and Ben Hucklebee (Brad Sullivan
) scheme to get their respective children, Luisa (Jean Louisa Kelly
) and Matt (Joey McIntyre), to fall in love. Knowing they will resist their fathers' interference, the two men use reverse psychology
and fabricate a feud, building a wall between their houses and forbidding their children to speak to each other. When their plan works, they enlist the aid of El Gallo (Jonathon Morris
), the proprietor of a traveling carnival
, to put an end to their supposed disagreement in a manner which will not reveal their deception.
El Gallo pretends to kidnap Luisa with the help of his troupe, which includes elderly Shakespearean actor Henry Albertson (Barnard Hughes
) and his mute sidekick Mortimer (Teller
), and arranges for Matt to rescue her. The couple settles into what they anticipate will be domestic bliss, but through the eyes of El Gallo and company they see the harsh realities of the world, and their innocent romanticism is replaced by a more mature understanding of love.
release, but executives at MGM/United Artists, discouraged by indifferent preview audience response, lost faith in the project and shelved it. Due to a contractual obligation to Jones and Schmidt to give the film a theatrical release, MGM Board of Directors
member Francis Ford Coppola
was enlisted to trim the film from its original 111 minute length to 86 minutes, and the abridged version finally was released in four theaters in September 2000. It grossed only $49,666 in the US.
The theatrical
production traditionally is performed on a bare stage with two-piece musical accompaniment. The film adaptation transposed the action to the farm
country of the 1920s American West
, affecting a look similar to Oklahoma!, and most of the songs were rearranged for a full orchestra
.
The songs were performed live by the actors rather than dubbed
in afterwards, as is the usual practice with a musical film.
Scott Foundas of Variety
called the film "little more than a curio, notable more for its lavish, labored efforts to revive the old-fashioned movie musical than for its success at reimagining the intimate tuner for the bigscreen . . . The Fantasticks is hampered almost from the start by the distinct lack of chemistry between McIntyre and Kelly as well as by McIntyre's seeming inability to alter his expression from that of perpetual, wide-eyed bewilderment. Kelly acquits herself more adequately as a singer than does McIntyre. But neither performer ever seems truly in thrall of the various fanciful goings-on . . . while the film is inarguably Ritchie's most visually adventuresome since Downhill Racer
30 years ago, the songs and performers seem overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the visual design. The relative claustrophobia of the carnival set is the film's greatest aesthetic strength, the big skies of big-sky country its greatest weakness, wherein the private dreaminess of the text seems to evaporate. The attempt to make a film of The Fantasticks that would function as the same playful homage to movie musicals that the play itself is to musical theater is admirable, but the resulting film is one of too much reverence and not enough satire."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Edward Guthmann said, "The Fantasticks doesn't try to reinvent the screen musical, as Cabaret
did in 1972, but revives the conventions of the '50s, when big-screen musicals were opened up for wide-screen formats and actors still broke spontaneously into song . . . [it] has slow patches and requires a generous suspension of disbelief. But it's also sweet and optimistic - a welcome antidote to gloom."
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
called it "pure enchantment that emerges as an inspired transposition of a musical to the screen - one that manages to honor the theatricality of the source yet becomes a fully cinematic experience . . . [it] is a gem, but so virtually extinct is the screen musical that the looming question remains as to whether people will care. It's one thing to pack Manhattan
's small Sullivan Street Playhouse with The Fantasticks decade after decade, and quite another to pull crowds with gossamer, lyrical make-believe to the country's multiplexes."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
said, "It was folly for Ritchie to shoot a spare theatrical piece against the sweeping landscapes of the Arizona prairie. But the folly sometimes pays off. Joe McIntyre, of New Kids on the Block
, and Jean Louisa Kelly catch just the right note of youthful yearning in their voices . . . even as the movie threatens to derail, the charm of the score . . . keeps breaking through."
TV Guide
says, "While the cast and songs are top notch, the predictability of the madness makes it pretty clear that this musical shouldn't have left the stage."
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
directed by Michael Ritchie
Michael Ritchie (film director)
Michael Brunswick Ritchie was an American film director.Ritchie was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the son of Patricia and Benbow Ferguson Ritchie...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Tom Jones
Tom Jones (writer)
Tom Jones is a lyricist of musical theatre. His best known work is The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 until 2002, and the hit song from the same, Try to Remember. Other songs from "The Fantasticks" include "Soon It's Gonna Rain", "Much More" and "I Can See It"...
and Harvey Schmidt
Harvey Schmidt
Harvey Lester Schmidt is an American composer for musical theatre. He is best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 - 2002.-Biography:...
is based on their record-breaking off-Broadway production of the same name
The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
, which ran for 17,162 performances. The two also composed the score's songs.
Plot
Amos Babcock Bellamy (Joel GreyJoel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
) and Ben Hucklebee (Brad Sullivan
Brad Sullivan
Brad Sullivan was an American actor known for character roles in television and on film and stage.-Early life and career:...
) scheme to get their respective children, Luisa (Jean Louisa Kelly
Jean Louisa Kelly
Jean Louisa Kelly is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her long-running role as Kim Warner on the television sitcom Yes, Dear.-Career:...
) and Matt (Joey McIntyre), to fall in love. Knowing they will resist their fathers' interference, the two men use reverse psychology
Reverse psychology
Reverse psychology is a technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what actually is desired: the opposite of what is suggested...
and fabricate a feud, building a wall between their houses and forbidding their children to speak to each other. When their plan works, they enlist the aid of El Gallo (Jonathon Morris
Jonathon Morris
Jonathon Morris is an English actor and former television presenter.-Career:Morris is best known for his role as Adrian Boswell in Carla Lane's comedy Bread, in which he starred for the series' entire five-year run between 1986-1991, and which made him a well-known face on British Television.Prior...
), the proprietor of a traveling carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, to put an end to their supposed disagreement in a manner which will not reveal their deception.
El Gallo pretends to kidnap Luisa with the help of his troupe, which includes elderly Shakespearean actor Henry Albertson (Barnard Hughes
Barnard Hughes
Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
) and his mute sidekick Mortimer (Teller
Teller (magician)
Teller is an American magician, illusionist, comedian, writer, and the frequently silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette. He legally changed his name from "Raymond Joseph Teller" to just "Teller"...
), and arranges for Matt to rescue her. The couple settles into what they anticipate will be domestic bliss, but through the eyes of El Gallo and company they see the harsh realities of the world, and their innocent romanticism is replaced by a more mature understanding of love.
Cast
- Joel GreyJoel GreyJoel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
as Amos Babcock Bellamy - Brad SullivanBrad SullivanBrad Sullivan was an American actor known for character roles in television and on film and stage.-Early life and career:...
as Ben Hucklebee - Jean Louisa KellyJean Louisa KellyJean Louisa Kelly is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her long-running role as Kim Warner on the television sitcom Yes, Dear.-Career:...
as Luisa Bellamy - Joey McIntyre as Matt Hucklebee
- Jonathon MorrisJonathon MorrisJonathon Morris is an English actor and former television presenter.-Career:Morris is best known for his role as Adrian Boswell in Carla Lane's comedy Bread, in which he starred for the series' entire five-year run between 1986-1991, and which made him a well-known face on British Television.Prior...
as El Gallo - Barnard HughesBarnard HughesBernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
as Henry Albertson - TellerTeller (magician)Teller is an American magician, illusionist, comedian, writer, and the frequently silent half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette. He legally changed his name from "Raymond Joseph Teller" to just "Teller"...
as Mortimer - Arturo GilArturo GilArturo Gil is an American dwarf actor who has appeared in many films, television programs, and commercials including Spaceballs, Monkeybone, The Fantasticks, Dirty Work, The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas, Silent Tongue, and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey.- Filmography :* Agent One-Half * Estudio 2*...
as The Bavarian Baby - Joe Anthony Cox as His Assistant
Soundtrack
- "Much More" - Luisa
- "Never Say No" - Amos, Ben
- "Metaphor" - Matt, Luisa
- "The Abduction Song" - El Gallo, Amos, Ben
- "Soon It's Gonna Rain" - Luisa, Matt
- "Happy Ending" - Amos, Ben, Luisa, Matt
- "This Plum Is Too Ripe" - Luisa, Matt, Amos, Ben
- "I Can See It" - Matt, El Gallo
- "'Round and 'Round" - El Gallo, Luisa
- "They Were You" - Matt, Luisa
- "Try to Remember" - El Gallo
Production
The film was completed in 1995 and scheduled for a ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
release, but executives at MGM/United Artists, discouraged by indifferent preview audience response, lost faith in the project and shelved it. Due to a contractual obligation to Jones and Schmidt to give the film a theatrical release, MGM Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
member Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
was enlisted to trim the film from its original 111 minute length to 86 minutes, and the abridged version finally was released in four theaters in September 2000. It grossed only $49,666 in the US.
The theatrical
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
production traditionally is performed on a bare stage with two-piece musical accompaniment. The film adaptation transposed the action to the farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
country of the 1920s American West
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, affecting a look similar to Oklahoma!, and most of the songs were rearranged for a full orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
.
The songs were performed live by the actors rather than dubbed
Dubbing (music)
In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type. It may be done with a machine designed for this purpose, or by connecting two different machines: one to play back and one to record the signal...
in afterwards, as is the usual practice with a musical film.
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, A.O. Scott said the film "wobbles between the timeless and the anachronistic. For all its robust good cheer it's a timid and uncertain creature . . . what looks like magic on stage can seem manic by the light of the screen. Live theater can tolerate outsize gestures, rickety sets and willful illusionism more easily than film, which is a stubbornly literal-minded medium . . . The Fantasticks is, at bottom, a tribute to the transformative power of theater, and the theater is where it should have been allowed to remain. The movie version overflows with affection and good intention, but unwittingly turns a bauble of cheerful fakery into something that mostly feels phony."Scott Foundas of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "little more than a curio, notable more for its lavish, labored efforts to revive the old-fashioned movie musical than for its success at reimagining the intimate tuner for the bigscreen . . . The Fantasticks is hampered almost from the start by the distinct lack of chemistry between McIntyre and Kelly as well as by McIntyre's seeming inability to alter his expression from that of perpetual, wide-eyed bewilderment. Kelly acquits herself more adequately as a singer than does McIntyre. But neither performer ever seems truly in thrall of the various fanciful goings-on . . . while the film is inarguably Ritchie's most visually adventuresome since Downhill Racer
Downhill Racer
Downhill Racer is a 1969 film and the first to be directed by Michael Ritchie. A drama about ski racing, it stars Robert Redford and Gene Hackman.Tagline: How fast must a man go to get from where he's at?-Plot:...
30 years ago, the songs and performers seem overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the visual design. The relative claustrophobia of the carnival set is the film's greatest aesthetic strength, the big skies of big-sky country its greatest weakness, wherein the private dreaminess of the text seems to evaporate. The attempt to make a film of The Fantasticks that would function as the same playful homage to movie musicals that the play itself is to musical theater is admirable, but the resulting film is one of too much reverence and not enough satire."
In the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Edward Guthmann said, "The Fantasticks doesn't try to reinvent the screen musical, as Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
did in 1972, but revives the conventions of the '50s, when big-screen musicals were opened up for wide-screen formats and actors still broke spontaneously into song . . . [it] has slow patches and requires a generous suspension of disbelief. But it's also sweet and optimistic - a welcome antidote to gloom."
Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called it "pure enchantment that emerges as an inspired transposition of a musical to the screen - one that manages to honor the theatricality of the source yet becomes a fully cinematic experience . . . [it] is a gem, but so virtually extinct is the screen musical that the looming question remains as to whether people will care. It's one thing to pack Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's small Sullivan Street Playhouse with The Fantasticks decade after decade, and quite another to pull crowds with gossamer, lyrical make-believe to the country's multiplexes."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said, "It was folly for Ritchie to shoot a spare theatrical piece against the sweeping landscapes of the Arizona prairie. But the folly sometimes pays off. Joe McIntyre, of New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block are an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts, assembled in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr. The band currently consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood.New Kids on the Block enjoyed success in the late 1980s and...
, and Jean Louisa Kelly catch just the right note of youthful yearning in their voices . . . even as the movie threatens to derail, the charm of the score . . . keeps breaking through."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
says, "While the cast and songs are top notch, the predictability of the madness makes it pretty clear that this musical shouldn't have left the stage."