“Anyway, I think the question of Sleepless in Seattle or One Fine Day is an easy one for you Paul. I’m more interested in whether you lean toward Harry and Sally…or Frankie and Johnny? “
After spending New Year’s Eve in the company of Harry and Sally, I caught up with Frankie and Johnny yesterday, for the first time in many years, and was smitten all over again. I love to watch films of that ilk, but sadly they don’t seem to be made any more. I’m talking about those New York pictures featuring ordinary people just trying to get through life, one day at a time. 
When Harry Met Sally stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and chronicles a decade in the lives and relationships of the aforementioned Harry and Sally. From their first meeting when they carpool together from the University of Chicago to New York, through several different relationships and chance encounters, before finally becoming a couple together. 
Frankie and Johnny is the tale of two lonely characters played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino, who are just trying to get by in life and make a living. Johnny (Pacino) is an ex-con who secures a job as a cook at a diner, where he meets and falls in love with waitress Frankie (Pfeiffer). He’s convinced they were soul mates before they ever met and despite her reluctance, nothing is going to deter him in his pursuit of her. 
Al Pacino plays Al Pacino in a way you rarely see. He still has all the answers and a degree of confidence, but he also displays a needy and vulnerable side. His understated acting forms a nice contrast to the brashness of Billy Crystal’s Harry in When Harry Met Sally. Playing opposite Crystal, Meg Ryan is radiant, giving a perfectly pitched performance as the high-maintenance Sally. In fact of this quartet of accomplished actors, Meg shares the acting honours with fellow Golden Globe nominee Michelle Pfeiffer. 
Michelle’s character Frankie is a woman who’s comfortable working by day and then sitting at home on her own in the evenings. When Johnny pursues her, she resists and fights her feelings, basically for the whole movie. Pfeiffer’s performance is beautiful. Michelle doesn’t have to say a word, conveying the conflict and fear within her character through her eyes and her body language. She’s fighting Johnny, she’s fighting herself, she’s fighting everything and it makes for powerful viewing. 
Harry and Sally may be one of modern cinema’s great romantic pairings but personally I prefer Frankie and Johnny. Theirs isn’t simply a story about a cook and a waitress falling in love. It’s a depiction of people’s inner fears and hesitations about falling in love, and starting and sharing a new life together. You can relate to their feelings, and Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer ooze class. The kiss Frankie and Johnny share, with the flower market as its backdrop, was the stand out moment of these movies for me. It’s just so touching to see the woman who would rather watch videotapes and eat ice cream at home, finally letting her guard down to embrace the possibilities of love.
Apparently nobody wants to watch films like these any more and that saddens me, because Frankie and Johnny and When Harry Met Sally are filled with truth, honesty, and great performances from some of our finest actors.
That’s reality. Whether it’s Harry and Sally or Frankie and Johnny. It’s a universal story that’s happening right now, to someone, somewhere in this world.
Happy New Year!
OMG! How is it possible to get any better than this film????
It’s sublime, I love the ending with Debussy’s beautiful “Clair de Lune” weaving it all together … I would class Frankie and Johnny as a perfect film, it has everything.
I’m so glad I watched Frankie and Johnny again, it’s too good.
You can just feel their pain. And their love. It’s a great journey, and it’s meaningful. You bring your own baggage into this movie when you watch it. Michelle Pfeiffer is beautiful. And she’s a great actress.
Pacino and Pfeiffer doesn’t work for me, I didn’t like Frankie and Johnny nor do I understand how anyone could possibly think it was superior to When Harry Met Sally.
I have watched parts of F&J several times but I’ve never been able to sit through the whole thing. I thought it was kind of viewed as a bomb that tried to capture the magic of Pretty Woman and failed.
I’m a Meg Ryan fan and I loved When Harry Met Sally from the first viewing; it still fuels my fantasies. When I first saw Frankie and Johnny, it was one of those movies where I found myself looking at the clock during, wondering- when is this over??
I guess it depends on which you saw and developed good feelings for first.
Hi Paul!
Great review, as always.
They definitely don’t make these kind of films anymore. It’s so sad. I watched Upside Down the other day and I was so bored and baffled.
The reason I like your posts is because I always find an answer to the question “what should I watch next?”. It’s been a long time since I last saw Frankie and Johnny.
p.s: I’d love to hear your opinion on The Story of Us. It’s one of my favorites.
Thanks Evi, it’s nice of you to say that.
I’m happy that you watched Flesh and Bone and the Fabulous Baker Boys recently, hopefully Frankie and Johnny will interest you too.
As for The Story of Us, it has been far too long since I last watched it. But a film starring Michelle and Bruce Willis, directed by When Harry Met Sally’s Rob Reiner definitely demands another viewing.
I’ll let you know what I thought.
I love ‘When Harry Met Sally’. I haven’t seen ‘Frankie and Johnny’, but I’ll try to get hold of a copy soon. Nice review!
Welcome xiaoarma, Frankie and Johnny is a gorgeous film – and subtle. The sort of film we don’t see enough of these days.
Thanks for the tip! I hope I can see it this weekend.
This isn’t even a question, is it? I only saw Frankie and Johnny once, but I thought it really terrible. And When Harry Met Sally was obviously amazing. Are there actually people who would choose F&J??? I’m fascinated.
Welcome meericat, you really should watch Framkie and Johnny again. If you do I hope you enjoy it.
Why had I known you were more of a “Frankie and Johnny” than a “Harry – Sally” person? … I think I am, too. Here’s my five cents on these two.
The two movies are quite different. In fact, it is quite fair to say they belongs to two different genres? Although there are moments in Frankie and Johny that would make the most uptight audience laugh out loud and many instances in WHMS that made me shed tears, Frankie and Johnny is much more of a drama than it is comedy while WHMS is undoubtedly the epitome of rom-coms.
I love practically every scene in WHMS. I loved the movie while I was watching it but the entertainment is sort of finished as the credit started.
“Frankie and Johnny”, on the other hand, is so subtle. The climax of the movie, though, was really impressive. That is, it left me thinking for a long long time after the credits started rolling. That ending scene when Michelle was brushing her teeth on the window sill ? … God, that was the perfect ending for a perfect movie, the kind where the actors said almost nothing and everything.
In terms of the leading casts, in my humble opinion, Michelle and Meg are on par in these two movies. Meg was playing a comedic role and she did it to near perfection.
And Michelle? I dare anybody to point out any imperfection in her role.
The male leads, though, kind of tip the scale for me. I am much more of an Al Pacino fan than a Bill Crystal fan ( who isn’t?). I love how you used the word “brash” to describe Bill’s acting in WHMS.
Thanks for the post, Paul. It’s always the highlight of my day to read your post. I’m sorry if my reply this time is way too long. Since I asked you the question, I sort of thought about it a lot myself!
Please don’t feel any need to apologise Trang, I’m very glad you asked me the question, and I really enjoyed reading your thoughtful contribution; the longer and more detailed the reply the better!
I agree with all the points you make especially regarding genres. Frankie and Johnny is definitely a drama and much like Prelude to a Kiss, which was released around the same time, I can never understand why it was labelled and marketed as a comedy.
As for the casts our opinions couldn’t be more similar.
In my original draft I did actually describe Meg and Michelle as being on a par in these two films, but I was worried you might think I was sitting on the fence (I think I might restore the line I originally wrote).
As for Pacino and Billy Crystal. Al’s performance definitely tipped the scales for me too. I’ve never taken to Billy Crystal’s Harry. In fact he’s probably my least liked leading man in any Meg Ryan movie.
Once again thanks for sharing your insight, and if you ever have any other Meg or Michelle related questions for debate please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Your reviews are always spot on. And who could disagree with this? These words of yours really resonated with me, ” I love to watch films of that ilk, but sadly they don’t seem to be made any more. I’m talking about those New York pictures featuring ordinary people just trying to get through life, one day at a time.” That is exactly what these movies are made of. And the time for wonderful films like these has passed? I think so. How sad. I guess that’s why I never go to the movies anymore.
I agree about how they don’t made films about ordinary people in New York. Lately it gets so ambitious, someone with a big career or something related. I haven’t watched both films, but I’ve wanted to see Frankie & Johnny for such a long time.