Review of The Fantasticks (2000) by Kurt F — 18 Nov 2012

The Fantasticks, based on the iconic off-Broadway musical, follows the story of two fathers who use reverse psychology in order to manipulate their children into marriage. Now, I have never seen the musical that this film was based on, but I feel that I can still fairly judge The Fantasticks on its own merits.

Unfortunately, even without the most basic knowledge of the source material, The Fantasticks falls flat. The writer and director attempts to make the film odd and magical, but unfortunately it just comes off as creepy and needlessly dark due to over the top visuals and the inability of the writer to get down a clear and consistent tone.

While the film has many great songs, for the most part the director is unable to find character actions that complement the music, causing the songs to harm the film's quality rather then help it.

That said, I actually do like this film. Is it good? No. Is it entertaining? Hell, yes. I'm not sure if it's because the film is so bad, or if there it's because of the interesting plot and songs, or maybe just because of a charismatic performance by Jonathan Morris, but even though I acknowledge that the film is bad, I was incredibly entertained watching it.

I guess that this film is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Despite the fact that I know I shouldn't like it, I enjoy it in spite of myself. While I perfectly understand why so many people dislike The Fantasticks (it is a bad film after all) I find some personal enjoyment out of watching it.

Overall, while "The Fantasticks" does fall flat due to it's inconsistent tone and bizarre visuals, it's also very enjoyable based on how bad it is and the interesting premise. I recommend this film to anyone who either likes musicals, or finds a lot of enjoyment out of bad movies.

I give The Fantasticks 3 out of 5 stars.