Retrospective Review: Frankie and Johnny

Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Héctor Elizondo, Nathan Lane and Kate Nelliga.

Dir. Garry Marshall. ★★★★☆

I take a look at Garry Marshall's seriously underrated romantic tale, that is all in the details.

There is a lot to love about Frankie and Johnny, a fairy tale brought bang up to date in one of the most urban romantic comedy drama's committed to screen. There is an edge of realism that frames this story and it's characters; it grounds the narrative into a very believable setting.

Predominantly set in a New York city diner, we are presented the first set of details; every patron of the cafe, every cook, waitress, owner has a story, whether glimpses or more, and then there are the protagonists to which the story and camera lingers. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was just another nineties romantic comedy, but this is so much more, we're not so much voyeurs as the drama unfolds, more eavesdropping on the two leads.

When Johnny (Al Pacino) is released from prison following a forgery charge, he quickly lands a job as a short-order cook at a New York diner. Following a brief fling with waitress Cora (Kate Nelligan), Frankie develops an attraction for Cora's friend and fellow waitress Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). While Frankie resists Johnny's charms initially, she eventually relents when her best friend, Tim (Nathan Lane), persuades her to give Johnny a chance.

The film carries a theme throughout, one of big city loneliness; ironically watching this in the midst of a lockdown where people have been cut off from friends and loved ones, the story is remarkably apt. Al Pacino brings a warmth and a wisdom to his character here as the awkward yet tenacious Johnny, in a very understated performance that is refreshing to see. That isn't to say his trademark intensity is absent, far from it, but there is a clearly a measured approach that Pacino has take to the role here.

Michelle Pfeiffer brings a touching performance to the picture, as a waitress down on herself, dating and relationships. The role of Frankie was first played in an off-Broadway play with Kathy Bates (of ''Misery'' fame), The casting of Michelle Pfeiffer was met with some negativity as many felt the actress was too beautiful to play such a damaged and plain character. However, while the film wasn't an enormous hit, Pfeiffer's performance was widely-praised and the actress was nominated for a Golden Globe as a result.

Frankie and Johnnie's connection covers a lot of ground, it's abrasive, curious, sentimental, awkward, sensitive and heartbreaking, but all credit to Garry Marshall the director, the pace of this journey remains gentle, the players and scenery linger long enough in every scene and frame to savour the details present in the canvas of the film; such is the magic of a Garry Marshall film, and in concert with the dialogue of Frankie and Johnny's writer Terrance McNally, you're left wondering what became of films like this, and how absent they are in Hollywood right now.