It's Like the Song, but Not Really

by Tisha Sharp

Reality in movies, now that's an oxymoron. Many big screen characters have one dimensional histories, predictable personality flaws, and storylines made for an after school special.

Not Frankie & Johnny. Despite the big named actors, Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, the storyline reaches past pretty faces and grabs you with ordinary loneliness, laughter, and the struggle to find happiness in the real world. An ex-con turned short order cook befriends a lonely, withdrawn waitress. Sounds too much like real life, right? Add an over sexed waitress, a zealous immigrant owner (played by the fantastic Hector Elizondo), and a gay neighbor into the mix, and you've got the ingredients for a truly great movie.

Say you want something funny. The scene at a party should bowl you over with laughter as a nerdy waitress laments about her bra strap breaking. Or the demand of an irate waitress trying to get her breakfast order fulfilled will forever be etched in your memory. Say you want something dramatic. Michelle Pfeiffer's character, Frankie, has more baggage than an NYC terminal yet she is drawn to this ex-con Johnny and his quirky sense of humor. Between her tragic past and his search for normalcy, they connect like so many people do that share the same pain.

The beauty of this movie is that it isn't about perfectly toned, perfect looking people finding love in all the right places. It's about the average person, the average life, and an above average message that love is found where you least expect it, and so is redemption. Take two hours of your life and watch Frankie and Johnny. You won't be sorry.

The Author

Tisha Sharp has been writing since the age of nine when she didn't like the endings to some fairy tales. Currently, her southern fiction novel A Month Full Of Sundays is being reviewed by four different publishing houses while she works on her second novel, Rocks of Ages. Tisha is married and has two children and three dogs. You can read more of her at her blog.