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In this adaptation of Terrence McNally's play, Johnny (Al Pacino), an ex-con turned short order cook, woos Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer), a reluctant plain jane waitress. Set in a dingy Manhattan diner, the story revolves around Johnny's eager, won't-stop-at-anything attempt to draw the embittered, recalcitrant Frankie out of her shell. As the two loners inch closer to love, we learn about their past: how Johnny landed in prison and what soured Frankie on men and relationships.
...Cute and clever....[Pfeiffer's] realistic yet gently comic performance is a study in empathy and grace....Al Pacino is something else again...
...[Pfeiffer is] fine-tuned, deeply persuasive....Pacino] makes Johnny's endless enterprise in wooing Frankie a delight...
...In it's celebration of cautious optimism, FRANKIE AND JOHNNY becomes the perfect love story for these troubled times...