Frankie and Johnny (1991)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Garry Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Terrence McNally (play)
Terrence McNally (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 October 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

You never choose love. Love chooses you.

Plot:

Johnny has just been released from prison, and gets a job in a cafe beside waitress Frankie. Frankie is a bit of a loner...

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Love | Cafe | Beautiful Woman | Sex

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Johnny
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Frankie
Hector Elizondo	...	Nick
Nathan Lane	...	Tim
Kate Nelligan	...	Cora
Jane Morris	...	Nedda
Greg Lewis	...	Tino
Al Fann	...	Luther
Ele Keats	...	Artemis
Fernando López	...	Jorge
Glenn Plummer	...	Peter
Tim Hopper	...	Lester
Harvey Miller	...	Mr. Rosen
Sean O'Bryan	...	Bobby
Goldie McLaughlin	...	Waitress Helen

Also Known As:

Frankie & Johnny (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In a scene at the beginning, Frankie is on a bus reading a magazine. On the front cover is Penny Marshall, the sister of director Garry Marshall.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer come home after their first date. They begin to make the bed. Al Pacino starts to take his jacket off. When he jumps on the bed to bite her butt, his jacket is completely on, and he must take it off again.

Quotes:

Cora: It didn't SEEM like you came! I mean, usually a guy'll moan or somethin', you didn't even clear your throat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Frankie and Johnny Are Married (2003)

Soundtrack:

CLAIRE DE LUNE

A romantic, popcorn-and-wilted-roses kind of comedy-drama...

You have to give the filmmakers credit: they did attempt to deglamorize Michelle Pfeiffer to fit into Kathy Bates' off-Broadway role of a waitress with no prospects who finds herself attracted to the new cook at the restaurant. Michelle's innate sparkle manages to shine through the dowdy clothes and plain-Jane appearance, and yet the miraculous thing is, her casting doesn't hurt the movie and her performance is one of the best things about "Frankie and Johnny". Pfeiffer and Al Pacino are a good screen match, and if they don't especially resemble the characters they're playing, they at least don't throw the tone out of whack (this is a Garry Marshall movie after all, so it's bound to have a bumpy narrative). Terrence McNally's play was about hard truths and sex on a low income; this is a big, charming commercial comedy-drama, directed with energy but no real flair. Pacino lays on the Prince Charming-pizazz a bit heavily, and Nathan Lane works overtime at being adorable as the proverbial gay best friend, but it certainly isn't a bad movie. It works on a certain level, even if it doesn't resemble reality or the original play. *** from ****