Forgotten

I recently rewatched the 90s movie version of The Fanstasticks. I'm one of the few people who saw it in a cinema. Though it's the longest-running Off-Broadway show ever, it was dumped in the movie theatres.

With good reason. The film just doesn't work. It probably couldn't work. (Not that it's relevant, but I did the show in community theatre years ago.)  It's a charming piece, but very small, and precious. The story is symbolic, and the characters archetypes. Movies work better with real people.

It's about a boy and a girl. What else? Their fathers design to bring them together, but the couple needs more experience before they're ready. Unfortunately, when you move this simple story into a world with solid farmhouses and huge, empty fields, it's all but swallowed up. A little more imagination, or perhaps a bigger budget, could have helped fill it, I suppose. I still like some of the tunes, but it's not enough.

Jean Louisa Kelly as the fresh-faced girl isn't bad, but the rest of the cast is so-so, and El Gallo (the swashbuckler hired by the fathers to help the kids out) is weak.



(Here's a regular guy doing the four-part number that opens Act 2 all by himself.)