Frankie and Johnny (1991 film)

Infobox_Film
name = Frankie and Johnny


caption = Original movie poster
director = Garry Marshall
producer = Garry Marshall
writer = Terrence McNally
starring = Al Pacino
Michelle Pfeiffer
music = Marvin Hamlisch
cinematography = Dante Spinotti
editing =
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = October 11, 1991
runtime = 118 min.
country = USA
language = English
gross = $22,774,000
amg_id = 1:18496
imdb_id = 0101912

"Frankie and Johnny" is a 1991 American motion picture. The original music score was composed by Marvin Hamlisch. The film was marketed with the tagline "You never choose love. Love chooses you."

Terrence McNally's screenplay was adapted from his 1987 off-Broadway play "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune", although it differed dramatically from the original, which had only two characters and was set in Frankie's apartment. The film version added several characters and different locations, but its most notable difference was in the casting of Michelle Pfeiffer (who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award) and Al Pacino in the lead roles, while the original featured two people with average appearances. Its basic premise remained the same: Johnny is convinced he has found his soul mate in Frankie, while she is far less certain they have a future together.

The cast, directed by Garry Marshall, also included Nathan Lane, Hector Elizondo, and Kate Nelligan, whose performance won awards from both BAFTA and the National Board of Review.

Plot summary

While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired as a short-order cook by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick. Also working at the diner is tough-skinned waitress named Frankie. When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm's length, her mistrust of men stemming from a traumatic experience in her past (dropping her child when her ex-husband hit her in the head and causing her to lose the ability to have any further children). Eventually, Frankie and Johnny do come together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement in which both lovers bare their souls.

Trivia

*One scene called for actor Al Pacino to be surprised after opening a door. "" was filming in a nearby studio, so director Garry Marshall arranged for Kirk and Spock be on the other side of the door that Pacino opened. Pacino was unfamiliar with the series, however.
*The football team on the poster behind Nick when Johnny enters the restaurant for the first time is PAOK FC from Thessaloniki, Greece, with a Two-Headed eagle as its emblem.
*Terrence McNally originally wrote the role of Frankie for Kathy Bates, who starred in the 1987 Off-Broadway production of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" alongside Kenneth Welsh. Bates campaigned to get the role in the film, but lost out to Michelle Pfeiffer. Barbra Streisand also campaigned.
*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.
*Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer had previously starred together in the 1983 film Scarface.
*In an appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, Pfeiffer divulged that she took the part because "it wasn't what people would expect of me" (in the context of the interview, likely referring to her conventionally attractive appearance), and that her only filmable skill as a waitress was opening jars.

Main cast

External links

*imdb title|id=0101912|title=Frankie and Johnny
*amg title|id=1:18496|title=Frankie and Johnny
*rotten-tomatoes|id=1037161-frankie_and_johnny|title=Frankie and Johnny