The Fantasticks

Plot synopsis:
=== Act I ===
Two houses are separated by a wall (portrayed by a mute actor) in an unspecified American town.
The mysterious El Gallo tells about love and September ("Try to Remember"). He then begins to explain the plot of the play. Two young people, Matt and Luisa, live next door to each other and fall in love. However, their fathers are feuding and order them not to speak to each other. Luisa fantasizes about the experiences she wants to have in her life ("Much More"). Matt then delivers a speech about his love for Luisa, singing over the wall to her in a mock literary/heroic way ("Metaphor"). Matt and Luisa sneak up to the top of the wall and speak secretly of Luisa's romantic vision of Matt saving her from kidnapping. Matt's father, Mr. Hucklebee, then appears and tells about his philosophy of life and gardening (don't overwater). He calls Matt and orders him to come inside the house. Luisa's father, Mr. Bellomy, then enters and gives a contrasting philosophy of life and gardening (plenty of water). He then orders Luisa inside. He then calls to Hucklebee, and the two old friends boast about pretending to feud as a means to ensure that their children fall in love. They note that to manipulate children you need merely say "no" ("Never Say No"). Hucklebee tells Bellomy of his plan to end the feud by having Luisa "kidnapped" by a professional so that Matt can "rescue" her and appear heroic.
The hired professional, El Gallo (who is also the narrator), appears and offers the fathers a menu of different varieties of "rape" – in the literary sense of an abduction or kidnapping – that he can simulate ("It Depends on What You Pay"). Deciding to spare no expense for their beloved children (within reason), the fathers agree to a "first class" rape. A disheveled old actor with a failing memory, Henry, and his sidekick, Mortimer, who is dressed as an American Indian, arrive. El Gallo engages them to help with the staged kidnapping. Matt and Luisa return and speak of their love and hint at physical intimacy ("Soon It's Gonna Rain"). El Gallo and the actors burst in and carry out the moonlit abduction scenario; Matt "defeats" the three ("Rape Ballet"). The feud is ended, with the children and the fathers joined in a picturesque final tableau ("Happy Ending"). El Gallo collects the stage properties used in the "rape" and wonders aloud how long the lovers and their fathers will be able to maintain their elaborately joyful poses. He and the Mute leave.
=== Act II ===
The children and fathers are discovered in the same poses but are visibly shaky and exhausted from the effort. El Gallo observes that what seemed romantic by moonlight may lose its charm when exposed to the harsh light of day. He exchanges the moon for the blazing sun. The fathers and lovers begin to complain about one another, noticing all the flaws that have become glaringly visible by daylight ("This Plum is Too Ripe"). The children try to recreate their romantic mood from the previous night and mock their fathers. Finally, in a fit of pique, Hucklebee reveals that their kidnapping and the feud were fake. Matt and Luisa are mortified, and the fathers' mutual recrimination quickly escalates into a real feud; they storm off to their respective houses. Matt sees El Gallo and, in a desperate attempt to regain his honor and Luisa's love, challenges him to a duel. El Gallo easily disarms Matt and leaves him embarrassed. Matt and Luisa then argue fiercely; she calls him a poseur, while he calls her childish.
Matt is eager to leave the provincial town. He and El Gallo discuss his vision ("I Can See It"). Henry and Mortimer then appear and lead Matt off into the real world. A month passes, and the fathers have rebuilt the wall. They speak sadly of their children; Luisa is like a statue and does nothing but sit around; Matt still hasn't returned. They then sing about the uncertainties of raising children, as compared with the reliability of vegetable gardening ("Plant a Radish"). Luisa sees El Gallo watching her and is intrigued by the handsome, experienced bandit. Impulsively, she asks him to take her away to see the world. In a long fantasy sequence, they preview a series of romantic adventures through a mask of unreality, while in the background Matt is being abused and beaten by Henry and Mortimer portraying a series of unpleasant employers. Even Luisa's fantasies become increasingly exhausting and darkly underscored ("Round and Round").
El Gallo tells Luisa to pack her things for the journey, but before she goes inside to do so, he asks her to give him her treasured necklace, a relic of her dead mother, as a pledge that she will return. As she goes inside, El Gallo promises her a world of beauty and grandeur; at the same time, Matt approaches to give a contrasting version of the cruel experiences that one can suffer ("I Can See It" (reprise)). As Luisa disappears, El Gallo turns to leave; Matt makes a pitiful attempt to stop him from hurting Luisa, but El Gallo knocks him away and disappears. Luisa returns to find that El Gallo has left her, and sits in tears. El Gallo, as the narrator, tells poetically that he had to hurt Matt and Luisa, and how he hurt himself in the process. Matt comforts Luisa, and he tells her a little about his experiences, and the two realize that everything they wanted was each other ("They Were You"; "Metaphor" (reprise)), but that they now understand that more deeply. The Fathers then return joyfully and are about to tear down the wall, when El Gallo reminds them that the wall must always remain ("Try to Remember" (reprise)).

Tags: romantic, comedy, entertaining, fantasy

Review:
People who experienced this intimate musical off-Broadway, and in local community theater productions around the country, will rightly be disappointed and even horrified by this film effort.Gone is the magic, the delight, and the imagination of a creation designed for small spaces, interaction with audiences, scant scenery and loads of beautiful melodies and poetic charm.They've taken a concept geared for a cabaret and ballooned into a huge overblown, literate production that comes off as strange and even weird.
Updating, however, cannot necessarily preserve what made it into a classic in the first place, and it is not just "It Depends on What You Pay" that's been updated.Speaking of the original "Fantasticks" as a whole, the score is something I fell in love with 34 years ago.
I think the fact the original play has run non-stop for 41 years verifies this.All this is lacking in the film.
Maybe this had to be done to adapt the musical into something that didn't seem just a filmed stage event and adapt it for modern audiences, but it isn't really "The Fantasticks" anymore, and it shows on the screen.
I won't be requiring them to watch this.Another comment on this forum said that the negatively opinionated people should cut the movie version some slack as there are always differences with a screenplay.
I think that Jean Louisa Kelly was the bright spot, quite good actually, and the actor who portrayed El Gallo was the low spot.Ironically, the movie was like the story.
I kept saying to myself several times during the viewing, "I don't remember this," or "I thought something else happened (or was said)."No, I'm not going to cut this some slack just because a movie version is going to differ from the staged version.
Given the resources and talent involved, one would have hoped for much more, but the movie lacks the sparkle of even a mediocre stage production.Joel Grey as Bellamy phoned in his performance.
And the one song he needed to really carry -- "Try to Remember" -- he didn't have the voice for.The staging was the most inspired part of the movie.
Simply filming the minimalistic stage production wouldn't have worked, but the movie's set -- two homes and a carnival set in the prairie -- was sufficiently minimalistic to honor the play's concept while still bending to the requirements of the big screen.
In addition to "The Rape Ballet" substitution, several other songs were changed from the original, generally not for the better, and the delightful "Plant a Radish" was omitted entirely.Perhaps the saddest change of all from the stage play was that the role of The Narrator was essentially omitted, and with it some of the most enchanting poetry in the script..
But the majority, of which I include myself, simply like it.I watched this with an open mind since I love the original play and had to watch it a second time to really see how I felt about it.
We in the theatre are used to seeing a character come on and off stage, setting scenes and so forth, yet it is a convention rarely used in film but can be done far more effectively since the character does not have to worry about getting set pieces on and off and can simply be a mystical figure.
Would that this filmed production were done on stage it would be a mere shadow of the original stage version, but that is why this is a movie and that is a play..
Some of my favorite moments on the CD are Jerry Orbach's poetic narrations, especially "You wonder how these things begin." Here, only one of the three--or rather half of one--is preserved.There should be a rule somewhere that if you don't like the original you shouldn't get to film it.Would it be too much to ask if.
I held my breath as I started playing the DVD after finding out that the opening "Try to Remember" was gone....but the more I watched...Jonathan (Stephen Sondheim's musicals) Tunnick's orchestrations started working a magic on me, and by the time "Soon It's Gonna Rain".
A simple love story with some of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's most enjoyable music, this film is a wonderful entertainment..
The Fantasticks is one of my favorite musical shows ever, and i was thrilled to know that a film version of it is available.
Unfortunately, the best thing about the film is the casting of Joe McIntyre as Matt; he is thoroughly adorable and sings his part beautifully.
While Joel Grey looks the part of the girl's father Bellomy, his singing is not as good as one would expect, so his witty duets with the other father Hucklebee, played by Brad Sullivan, came off a little flat.
As a fan of the stage version (and a former cast member) I was not just dismayed to see some of the best numbers reduced or in some cases replaced or removed, I was actually hurt that anyone could mangle so completely such a simple, eloquent musical.
I can only hope that now that the original off broadway production has closed someone will come along and make a real film of one of the best musicals ever written..
People need to stop comparing this to the stage production.Movie adaptations of musicals almost ALWAYS change things andpurests can always point out major differences.
Plant a Radish is missed too, but I feel It Depends on What you Pay was probably cut because of censorship...If you watch the cut scenes on the DVD, you can see it could have been a much better movie if some had been included...
The other review of this movie is great and talks about the differences between the movie and the stage production.The movie certainly doesn't pay homage to the longest running musical in the history of American Musical Theatre, but you do get a chance to see some, not all, of the amazing music.Johnathon Morris who plays El Gallo and who sings the most famous song from the show "Try To Remember" is very weak and doesn't portray the "evilness" needed for the role.I have heard that the movie wasn't all that bad until Frances Ford Coppala got a hold of it and decide to edit it into non-recongition Don't expect much at all from the movie and you might not be disappointed.
This has got to be the worse movie adaptation of a stage musical since Paint Your Wagon.no wonder it sat on the shelf for five years.
The incredible talents of Joel Grey were wasted.Songs were cut outfor no apparent reason.I understand that when adapting a stage show for the screen some changes are made to open up the story,that I can live with.Most of the time these are changes for the better.But here the changes serve no purpose.If you haven't had the chance to see this wonderful musical doneon stage,make a point do do so soon.This show ran off Broadway for 40 years,there's a reason it did.Don't let this movie be the image that comes to mind when you think of The Fantasticks..
I rate this at the bottom of the pile of stage to screen transfers along with the dreadful Bye, Bye, Birdie and Paint Your Wagon.First, why cut "Try to Remember" (the one song that practically everyone knows) from the beginning of the picture (and trim it at the end).
This show just opens with Bellamy sewing (?)Then, because they wanted to make it more like a traditional movie musical, they cut the narrator - and with him went most of the wonderful dialogue much of it spoken in poetry and verse (note the absence of the speech before "Soon Its Gonna Rain"["You wonder how these things begin...]; trimmed down is the "Curious Paradox" speech the most important part being cut out; gone is Louisa's self-description that sets up "Much More" as well as Matt's intro to "Metaphor"; and most important of all the speech opening the second act is gone which explains much of what the story is about).Gone also are all the wonderful metaphors (the whole idea behind the song of the same title)that prevade the show - the gardening metaphors are gone (hence why "Plant a Radish" was cut, though one wonders why they left in "This Plum is Too Ripe"); gone also is the metaphor of the wall (one of the most important in the show, leading to the most significant, if not most enigmatic, line in the play "Leave the wall, you must always leave the wall.")Not surprisingly the mute is cut, but other characters are changed as well.
I know the arguments for replacing "Depends", but I have directed the show twice and played El Gallo once and have not ever heard a complaint about the song - you simply have to introduce it correctly.One wonders why they even decided to film this show if they were going to change it so much.
Recently, however, I found a copy in the local thrift store and thought to myself "why not?" I wish I'd left it in the scratch and dent bin.Another reviewer described the stage version as "a bubble balanced on the head of a pin" and that's as good an analogy as any of the fragility of the magical effect the play has on its audiences.
To anyone reading this review: if you've seen and enjoyed a stage production of The Fantasticks but haven't seen the movie, don't bother; if you've seen the movie, but never the stage play, do yourself a favor - see the stage play if ever you have the chance, and also buy the original cast album to learn what the music is supposed to sound like..
I can't believe that Jones & Schmidt, the creators of this marvelous bit of theater, were complicit in the creation of this disastrous movie version that cuts the heart out of the original musical.If you haven't seen the original, it's performed with very little in the way of props or sets.
And in order to beef up the chamber-style accompaniment of the play, they hired the wonderful Jonathan Tunick to orchestrate it: probably the best decision made by the producers.In order to give El Gallo some background, however, the writers introduce an entire traveling circus that for some reason chooses to set up in a neighborhood containing only four people.
Now THAT was a cast.) The young couple is OK - Jean Louisa Kelly is charming, and she was about to make a splash in "Mr. Holland's Opus." El Gallo as played by Jonathon Morris, seems to be trying to channel Cary Elwes from "Princess Bride" and has an unimpressive singing voice.
If one hasn't seen "The Fantasticks" on stage or heard the original score in its entirety, the movie "ain't" that bad.
However, after more than 50 years running, and after thousands of international and summer stock productions, the play has had a lot of critically biased audience when they view the film.
It might have been better if the makers of the movie had just filmed a stage production.
My local video retailer told me this several days ago.About a year ago-I put together a petition at the movie theatre that I work at and got 368 signatures to convince MGM to release this gem,and now it is coming.I also want the Soundtrack-the arrangements are gorgeous and it deserves to be released.Those people who are so tightly attached to the play-my suggestion?
play issue.It is definitely one of the best movie adaptations in some time of a musical,and is very memorable.So There!!!!!!!!!.
I had heard for several years that the film version of The Fantasticks was "un-watchable and un-releasable".
We especially appreciated the following songs: "Never Say No": For the lines "Why did the kids pour jam on the cat" and "Why did the kids put beans in their ears" these made little if not no sense to us."It Depends on What You Pay": For it's casual throwing around of the terms rape, and abduction."Soon It's Gonna Rain": For the spaced out expression of Joe McIntyre's face, as well as the strange blindfolded foreplay near the end of the tune."Round and Round": For the repeated beatings and inexplicable "ah-ah-ah-ing" from the heroine.We would also like to state for the record that it is a shame that the song "Plant A Radish" was cut, and not included in the final draft of the film because clearly with children you never know until the seed is fully grown, but at least with beans you can send 'em back.We watched the movie on repeat for three hours reliving the best moments, WITHOUT the use of chemical enhancers...
while it does lack the glitter of the great off Broadway show that i saw many times at the Sullivan street playhouse (WHICH IS SADLY GONE NOW REPLACED BY HI END HOUSING) so get the DVD and take a day or to to recreate the film the way the director wanted you see it and not the hack job that Frances did to it..
I've never seen the stage play, but I liked this film for what it was.
until now.I've heard critics pan the stage play production, and based on what I've seen in the film I think I can understand their perspective, but not really agree with it.
There's a lot of implied intimacy in terms of style, which help conveys the overall gist of the film's message.The musical numbers, for what they are, are a bit hit-and-miss (song depending).
If you don't know "The Fantasticks", please don't watch this film, because it will make you hate the musical.
I attended a pre-release screening, and can happily report that director Michael Ritchie has beautifully accomplished the near impossible feat, translating the simple  heartwarming stage musical into a simply stylized film musical while retaining all of its charm.The show on stage is performed without sets and with a lot of poetic suggestion from the script and imagination from the audience.
The story plays itself out pretty much the same as on stage (the original writers were wisely retained), and due to its strange, surrealistic quality it all makes sense in a dream-like way, even when the characters break into song.All but one of the beautiful songs are in the film--the "Plant a Radish" song is gone, but is not really missed, as it didn't advance the story that much.
The show has been playing Off-Broadway for 40 years.)  Perhaps the most well-known song from the show, "Try to Remember" is not sung at the beginning as on stage, but rather at the very end, which is quite fitting for the film as selected clips of the preceding film are intercut like faded memories.
Fans of the play will be left shaking their heads, and anyone coming on this for the first time will be left wondering what all the fuss was about.Lifeless staging, stiff performances, actors who possess no charisma or charm...what were they thinking?
The extremely long-running (41 years at the same off-Broadway theatre!!) musical "The Fantasticks" cannot possibly be filmed exactly as it was staged.
It is true that "Try To Remember", the show's one huge hit, is saved for the end of the film, but in the version I saw, it is sung complete, and not cut down.The musical victims are "Plant a Radish" (which I frankly don't remember), and the now very politically incorrect " It Depends On What You Pay" .(the substitute, "Abductions" is completely inoffensive, but totally unmemorable as a song.) Every other song is included.The acting is pretty much what is required--no Oscar-worthy performances here, but Joel Grey and Brad Sullivan (who, mercifully, does very little singing) are hilarious are the two fathers.
The cast of little knowns (plus Joel Gray) are excellent, the musical arrangements, production design and cinematography are all top notch, despite a limited budget.This is one DVD where you've got to watch the deleted material.
The film was extensively re-edited for DVD release, and the cut material is wonderful, including a couple of songs and funny and creative dialog scenes.
Joe was a perfect choice for the lead male, and the set really created the visual feeling of a stage production, but adapted perfectly for the film version!
This is a movie for you if you love Joe McIntyre, or classical musical films, like the Sound of Music.
That's lost somewhat in the movie version, which leaves the 'first act' rather lifeless and idiotic; Jean Louisa Kelly is surprisingly bad, Joe McIntyre is totally unlikeable, and I have no love of any of the songs performed.
For those of you lucky enough to have seen a theatrical production of this incredible musical, the film version will stick out like a sore thumb, maybe even a broken thumb.
Having performed in a stage version of "The Fantasticks"(as "The Mute")I was so excited that the film version was finally going to be released.
No film could completely capture the magic of the stage version, but this one comes as close as anyone could.
Other than the wonderful classic, "Try to Remember", this show includes the hilarious "It Depends on What You Pay" and the beautiful and haunting "They Were You" among others.The movie version has a good cast.
The direction and the editing are very bizarre (especially during the father duet "Never Say No") and the movie leaves the show's most famous song which opens the musical, the previously mentioned "Try to Remember" and leaves it for the very end as an afterthought.A lot of the magic is lost in this version and I can see why it was shelved for five years.
A lack of chemistry between Joey McIntyre and Jean Luisa Kelly, the two actors playing Matt and Luisa, also hurt this film version which only had a here today, gone literally tomorrow movie version of the musical that in retrospect seems pointless.