Frankie & Johnny poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hector Elizondo, Nathan Lane, Kate Nelligan ... see more see more... , Jane Morris , Greg Lewis , Al Fann , Ele Keats , Fernando Lopez , Glenn Plummer , Tim Hopper , Harvey Miller , Sean O'Bryan , Hope Alexander-Willis , Paul Allison , Richard Allison , Bill Applebaum , Mychael Bates , Ashley Baynes , Vallery Baynes , Gordon Belson , Flora Berniker , Marvin Braveman , Eugenia Bravos , Gena Bravos , Blanche Bronte , Robert Brunner , Frank Buxton , Karin Calabro , K Callan , Frank Campanella , Karen Case Cook , Lucinda Crosby , Krista H. Davis , Lou Evans , Bettiann Fishman , Hyman Fishman , Diane Frazen , Nick Gambella , Ira Glick , John Goldman , Ronny Hallin , Calvin Jung , Harvey Keenan , Allan Kent , Diana Kent , Elizabeth Kerr , Shirley Kirks , Joli Lallo , Phil Leeds , Barbara London , Bud Markowitz , Barbara Marshall , Lori Marshall , Scott A. Marshall , Keith Martell , Kelly McCray , Goldie McLaughlin , Shawn McLean , Barbara Mealy , Laurie Metcalf , Jeff Michalski , Barbara Nabozny , Marty Nadler , Julie Paris , Dedee Pfeiffer , Pricilla Phillips , Laurie Quinn , Marc Raducci , Tracy Reiner , Steve Restivo , Blair Richwood , Joy Rosenthal , Shane Ross , Al Sapienza , Mark Scarola , Lori Sigrist , Terri Sigrist , Lynn Stalmaster , Lorna Thayer , Paul Tinder , Sophie Von Haselberg , Zachary Weintraub , Shannon Wilcox , Dey Young , Robert Ball , Richard Gillis

Terrence McNally's stage play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was a two-character piece, which starred Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham on Broadway. Garry Marshall's film version of the McNal... read more read more...ly play streamlines the title to Frankie and Johnny, expands the dramatis personae to include at least a dozen fascinating characters, and "glamorizes" the decidedly unglamorous Frankie and Johnny in the forms of Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino (their first co-starring stint since Scarface). Purists carped at the changes, but overall the film is likeable enough to transcend these carps. While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny (Al Pacino) discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick (played by Garry Marshall "regular" Hector Elizondo). Also working for Nick is a waitress named Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm's length, her mistrust of men stemming from an unmentioned but obviously traumatic experience in her past. Eventually, however, Frankie and Johnny do get together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement wherein both lovers bare their souls. The bulk of the original McNally play is concentrated in the film's final 20 minutes; the rest of the picture is a kaleidoscope of comic and poignant vignettes and quick-sketch character studies. Of the newly minted characters, the standout is Nathan Lane in the traditional "gay best friend/severest critic" role: he plays the character so effectively that one forgets he's essentially a cliché. As for the stars, Al Pacino is ideally cast as Johnny, but Michelle Pfeiffer, superb though she is, seems a bit ill at ease as the emotionally tattered Frankie; she totally wins the audience's hearts, however, in the film's memorable bowling-alley sequence. Smoothing over the rough spots in Frankie and Johnny is the evocative musical score by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Flixster Users

62% liked it

20,821 ratings

Critics

78% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Garry Marshall

Release Date: October 11, 1991

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: December 4, 2001

Get It:

Stats: 641 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

frankie and johnny Frankie & Johnny
Upload a Photo | View All Frankie & Johnny Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (641)

  • ScoopOnline
    December 2, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Nice classic
  • SirPant
    September 23, 2009
    SirPant
    I love this film, my kind of chick flick! Believable and beautiful.
  • dreamfaeries
    November 3, 2006
    dreamfaeries
    Adorable.
  • panta2
    November 10, 2011
    panta2
    I never had a chance to write anything about this film directed by Garry Marshall before. But after watching after so many years ago I really enjoyed Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer like the first time. It seems that the movie still has the same vibe like when it was originally r... read moreeleased.

    The title is a reference to the traditional American popular song 'Frankie and Johnny', first published in 1904, which tells the story of a woman who finds her man making love to another woman and shoots him dead... of course nothing like that happens in this movie! Johnny (Pacino) is a middle-aged man, just released from prison who's looking for a job and he's hired as a short-order cook in a local diner where he meets a pretty waitress Frankie...

    Inspiring love story about ordinary people over forty, who were trying to connect... Michelle Pfeiffer's powerfully subtle acting can tickle the funny bone or pierce the heart with equally uncanny skill and Al Pacino's Johnny is showing a real strong man with pronounced neediness which can be overwhelming at times! Worth watching!
  • michaelcorleone
    September 29, 2007
    michaelcorleone
    One of the most enjoyable, intelligent and well-acted romantic comedies I've ever seen. The themes are unusually potent for a film of this genre, and Pacino and Pfeiffer have a fantastic amount of chemistry.
  • Lemure
    February 21, 2010
    Lemure
    Pfeiffer is an introverted woman who isn't interested in dating and just wants to watch her VCR. Pacino is a fast-talking ex-con who falls in love with Pfeiffer upon seeing her and then wants to get married and have kids. Pfeiffer agrees to this seemingly because he's so damn pu... read moreshy and won't let her stop and think. I got the whole "love happens" spiel, but Pacino just irritated in this. Good Dick did it so much better and so I strongly recommend that film over this one.
  • leekyle1968
    April 6, 2009
    leekyle1968
    not bad for Pacino's first romantic style flick.
  • Zibbs
    February 12, 2010
    Zibbs
    "Empathy: the sympathetic vibrations of two human beings."


    SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE HAMBURGERS AND THE HASHBROWNS...


    "Frankie & Johnny delivers one of the most elusive chimeras in mainstream moviemaking: a romance that has the look, the rhythm, the one-liners, and even the premi... read morese of a comedy but is actually not a comedy. Its low notes and minor chords are just as foundational and just as constant as its bright spots and perky exchanges. Its resolution, however proudly optimistic, is also quite tentative. In sum, it's an adult vision of two complicated people converging, finding an ointment but not a cure for the ways in which they have been hurt. It's a romance where people remain throughout who they were in the first scenes." - Nick Davis (Nick's Flick Picks)




    "Can I tell you something?... I got a crush on you."


    Pacino still wants kids from Michelle Pfeiffer.


    "Frankie & Johnny presents a convincing anatomy of urban loneliness. Even better, it reveals the fear and lack of self-esteem which keep wounded individuals locked up in the prison of themselves until someone - in the name of love - convinces them to free themselves." - Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (Spirituality and Practice)




    (Another gay Nathan Lane character.)


    "I want to kill myself sometimes when I think that I'm the only person in the world and that part of me that feels that way is trapped inside this body, that only bumps into other bodies, without ever connecting to the only other person in the world trapped inside of them."
  • titanfan207
    August 25, 2008
    titanfan207
    This is an enjoyable romantic comedy, it's interesting to see how far one guy will go to get the girl of his dreams. i think the supporting cast is great too, i love Nathan lane and Hector Elizondo
  • ghettoqueen747
    July 31, 2008
    ghettoqueen747
    i love this movie it is nice to see that an ex-con can get out of prison and find love as well as a job! lol

View All Frankie & Johnny Reviews

Critic Reviews

Chuck O'Leary
July 5, 2007
Chuck O'Leary, FulvueDrive-in.com

An absolutely delightful and tender romantic comedy. Succeeds so well because of the great, very real performances by the two leads and writer Terrence McNally's smart, often hilarious dialogue.

Nick Davis
August 6, 2006
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks

An adult vision of two complicated people converging, finding an ointment but not a cure for the ways in which they have been hurt. Full Review

Michael Dequina
March 5, 2005
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

The two A-List actors are definitely on their A game here, erasing most notions of miscasting through the passion of performance. Full Review

Rich Cline
February 7, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

watchable

Fred Topel
August 1, 2003
Fred Topel, About.com

Good character study of simple people

Alex Sandell
July 30, 2003
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum

An okay romantic comedy. A bit on the slow side.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
July 18, 2003
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

A convincing anatomy of urban loneliness. Full Review

Ken Hanke
June 16, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Splendid film version of the play. Intelligently done.

Scott Weinberg
July 27, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

Star-power overcomes staginess in this surprisingly warm romance.

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • People I Know
    People I Know (67%)
  • Into the Night
    Into the Night (100%)
  • Sea of Love
    Sea of Love (50%)
  • City Lights
    City Lights (100%)

More Movies like Frankie & Johnny

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Frankie & Johnny : Watch Free on TV

Frankie & Johnny Trivia

  • Which actress do these films have in common? Frankie & Johnny Wolf I Am Sam Grease 2 Batman Returns  Answer »
  • In which movie we can't see the wonderfull Johnny Depp?  Answer »
  • What two movies did both Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino both co-star in?  Answer »
  • What '91 movie paired Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer as a cook and a waitress?  Answer »
More Frankie & Johnny Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Frankie & Johnny. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Frankie & Johnny to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?