Primetime Backyard Movie Series - FRANKIE & JOHNNY (1991)

For some reason I've been on a diner romance kick lately.

Those of you who are also members of the other group I organize know that this month I was playing the great (and original) BEDAZZLED (1967) about a short order cook trying to win the love of a waitress at his hamburger restaurant. Now that film is notable because of its silliness and because it acts as an origin story for what we now think of as British comedy.

This month's movie - FRANKIE & JOHNNY (1991) - is about...well...a short order cook trying to win the love of a waitress at his corner diner.

But although both movies at their core are heart-tugging love stories, the movies could not be more different.

Much of the power of this movie stems from its true championship pedigree. The film is based on the play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by the great American playwright Terrence McNally, a Tony and Emmy winning writer and composer of numerous award winning Broadway plays and musicals. In the latter case, he was a frequent collaborator with John Kander and Fred Ebb, who themslves were the literary forces behind much of Bob Fosse's work on stage, including the stage musical upon which the Best Picture winning CHICAGO (2002) was based.

But Frankie and Johnny in the Clare de Lune was solely a McNally work, and was his first major success, playing both on and off Broadway in various iterations for many years with actors such as Kathy Bates, F. Murray Abraham, Carol Kane, Edie Falco, Stanley Tucci, Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano in the titular roles, winning prestigious awards for Bates and Tucci (in different productions).

And then Hollywood came calling.

Now depending on how you feel about the original play, that was either a wonderful stroke of magic or a good example of how Hollywood doesn't care about purists.

But to be honest, when I first saw this movie in a movie theater in 1991, I knew nothing about the play or its history. All I knew was that it involved three of my favorite people in the movie business: the late, great Garry Marshall (who directed), and at the time, my absolute two favorite actors, Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. When McNally adapted his own play for the screen, he expanded the story (which on stage took place in one room and had only two characters) and added numerous scene stealing supporting roles, including an absolute gem of a performance by Nathan Lane. McNally also brightened the story a little to mesh better with Hollywood sensibilities. Despite that, and despite the fact that many people refer to this movie as a romantic comedy, it in fact holds on to its darker stage roots, using these two lonely people as instruments to examine relationship abuse, LBGQT issues (at a time when that was not talked about everywhere), and even our prejudice against the formerly incarcerated.

But let's get back to Pacino and Pfeiffer. Some people have criticized this film because of Marshall's atypical choices of these two megastars at the height of their careers. Pacino, unlike his character "Johnny", was much older than Pfeiffer, which some say took away from the believability of the relationship. The younger Pfeiffer, unlike most of the stage performers who had previously played Frankie, was a stunningly beautiful woman, and although they have her frumped up quite a bit in this movie, and even with her considerable talent as an actor, it was hard for some audiences to accept her as this lonely, damaged, and cynical wallflower. However, this was not the two actors' first rodeo, as they had already starred together in Brian DePalma's infamous gangster epic SCARFACE in 1983.

Despite the criticism, which I have always considered unfair and mostly leveled by lovers on the original stage play, FRANKIE & JOHNNY has stood the test of time and was even included on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 Love Stories of All Time. And yes...it is a deeply moving love story. But it is a love story with a dark undertow. I've always felt like Pacino and Pfeiffer took the "perceived flaws" in their casting and used it to create a realistic tension in their relationship on screen. After all, Frankie and Johnny are nothing if not a mismatched pair, and even at the end of both the play and the movie, you're still not quite sure where their relationship is going. This is not the fairy tale that Marshall's PRETTY WOMAN (1990), released one year before, was. FRANKIE & JOHNNY reminds us that relationships are messy, and sometimes you just have to quit trying to control it and enjoy what life sends your way, whatever may happen..

Presenting our fifth season of our Primetime Backyard Movie Series, where we'll all get together during good weather armed with our bug spray and lawn chairs to watch a variety of movies.

I have the movies. I have the projector. I have a sort of giant (for a backyard at least) 10 foot screen. I even have a long, narrow but semi-deep backyard with a giant oak tree that will silently watch over us as we relive our youth at the drive-in and make fun of those making out on the back row.

There will be free hot dogs, movie candies, movie nachos, and popcorn. Feel free to bring other stuff if you want, including your own lawn chair. I have some spares and some blankets, but not enough for a full house. BYOB. I'll have some soft drinks and water as well.

We'll socialize for about an hour before the movie, which will start promptly at dusk (about 8:50 pm), along with an Alamo Drafthouse -style preshow.

RAIN POLICY - I'll post here if we have to reschedule for weather or other unforeseen events. Just check here before you head this way.

CARPOOLS - My parking around here really is limited thanks to overbuilding on nearby lots, so carpooling is encouraged.