Frankie and Johnny (1991)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Johnny	Al Pacino	½
Frankie	Michelle Pfeiffer
Nick	Héctor Elizondo	½
Tim	Nathan Lane
Cora	Kate Nelligan
Nedda	Jane Morris	-
Tino	Greg Lewis	-
Luther	Al Fann	-
Artemis	Ele Keats	-
Jorge	Fernando López	-

Review

Calling this a romantic comedy is a little misleading, since the bits and pieces of comedy in here are very downplayed – and also quite tasteful, I should add. Frankie and Johnny is more of a romantic drama, a low-key look at a slice of city life and the ordinary working-class people populating it. The well-written, authentic characters are the film's best achievement, thanks both to playwright Terrence McNally's script, Gerry Marshall's unimpeding direction and fine performances by Al Pacino and, particularly, Michelle Pfeiffer. This was back at a time when Pacino was actually still acting, and so his Johnny is both sympathetic and layered, even if he's somewhat of a nuisance. His counterpart, Pfeiffer's Frankie, has got depth enough to keep this story interesting for two hours, even when the film is not actually going anywhere and you realize that the final half is a slow, taxing build-up to an uneventful, clichéd finale. Nathan Lane is great as Pfeiffer's gay neighbour.