The Fantasticks Movie (2000)

Seeing several threads about the Fantasticks today made me want to start another one! What do you guys think about the movie version of the Fantasticks made back in 2000? I have never seen it because I read the reviews which ate it to pieces. Should I see it just so I can say I have or is it not even worth renting?

If you have no idea what I am talking about, here is a link to it on amazon.com:
The Fantasticks (2000) on Amazon.com

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I saw it and thought that the actors did well with what they had, even though I thought it was so boring.

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Well darn, of course my local video store (okay Hollywood Video) doesn't have the movie. Maybe I could buy it cheap on Half.com or Ebay.

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I own a copy! It's worth watching becasue of the wonderful cast (el gallo not so much, but everyone else). It's a decent movie overall. I stand with curtainup by saying it isn't meant to be a movie, it works best in an intimate setting.

I am also the sad owner of this horrible travesty. I was furious as I watched this unfold. They changed lyrics! They changed lyrics! Some of the best writing EVER for the American theater and they changed them! And don't get me started on Joey MacIntyre in this. Lord, he sucked. I haven't seen him in Wicked and he may be great, but in this, he is HOR-REND-ous. I thought Kelly was, physically and type-wise, perfect for the show. Wasn't too impressed with anything else though. I've played both El Gallo and Matt in different productions of The Fantasticks and it is my favorite musical. I consider it to be a treasure or the American Theatre (we don't have too many, we haven't been around as long as ol' England ). This movie makes a mockery of it. I despise it.

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Updated On: 10/24/04 at 01:33 AM

CATSNY has it spot on. If they'd left in the deleted scenes, it would have been one helluva flick.

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Ha!! I actually worked as a PA on this film when it was made outside of Tucson sometime in the early nineties. It was on the shelf for almost a decade. The director didn't know what the hell he was doing, and Jean Louisa "Excuse me, I was in Uncle Buck!" Kelly is the biggest bee-yotch I have ever met.

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I agree with everything....there was something eerie about the way it was shot that I liked a lot. It reminded me of the movie "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Maybe it's just me.

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It is pretty bad. The additions to the score are nice at times, though.

Most of the time I feel bad for the fact that Joel Grey has his talents wasted throughout the picture.

Watching the deleted "Rape" song is sort of neat. Still can't make it through that song without cringing at least once...

--M--

have never seen it.
i think i will rent it tonite.
i love the music.
The Dying God: A Vampire's Tale(A Dramatic Play in NYC)

Really? Other than music wise, I always thought of Act 2 as the Real Life part and Act 1 as the sugar coated part.

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It's really pretty horrible. Its such a theatrical piece to begin with. Who ever thought transferring it to film would be a good idea?

I own it and also saw in the original theater (not original cast).

I would've liked to see it before Scorsese edited it. He cut "Try to remember" and put it over the closing credits. The songs were sung live on the set not studio overdubs. The movie probably makes fewer changes than most movie adaptations. I happened on the movie after seeing Jean Louisa Kelly in Mr. Hollands opus and would love to see her in other musicals. I agree with the others that Jonathon Morris is the weak singing link in the show. It somehow retains the sparseness of the stage show. It never has the feeling of "The real world", but of that mythical innocent time & place.