Frankie and Johnny

Plot

An emotionally scarred waitress named Frankie attends her godson's baptism in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man named Johnny is released from prison. Frankie returns home to her job waitressing at the Apollo Cafe in New York City. The cafe's owner Nick sends Frankie's co-worker Helen home early after she complains of dizziness. Johnny arrives seeking a job, and Nick hires him as a short-order cook despite his criminal record. After work, Frankie returns home to her apartment to find a stranger, Bobby, installing shelves, but he is revealed to be the boyfriend of her friend and neighbor Tim. That night, Johnny solicits a prostitute, but merely asks her to lie clothed in bed with him.

The next day, Nick announces to his staff that Helen has been hospitalized. Frankie and her co-worker Cora visit an unconscious Helen and share their fears of dying alone like her. The next day, after helping a man who had an epileptic seizure, Johnny asks out Frankie on a date, but she refuses. Helen dies, and Frankie, Cora and fellow waitress Nedda are surprised to see Johnny at her funeral. Back at work, Johnny asks Frankie out again. After she again refuses, he has a one-night stand with Cora, who shares the details with Frankie and Nedda.

Weeks pass, and Johnny asks Frankie to be his date at a co-worker's going-away party, but she refuses again. He comes to her apartment anyway, where Bobby and Tim help Frankie decide what to wear. At the party, Johnny attempts to convince Frankie that they are a good match. After the party, he buys her a flower and persuades her to take him back to her apartment, where they spend an intimate night together.

Convinced that they are meant to be together, Johnny shows up at her bowling night and professes his love to her. Frankie argues that he cannot love her after such a short period of time and reveals that she cannot have children after Johnny mentions starting a family. Afterward, Frankie tries to avoid Johnny by not answering his phone calls and switching her shifts at the cafe. However, Johnny switches his shifts too, and they talk to each other. Johnny confesses that he is divorced and has two children whom he has not seen since he got out of prison, having served time for check fraud. Frankie encourages him to see them, and she confesses that her last boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend.

After work, Johnny walks Frankie to her apartment, where they discuss their lives and listen to "Clair de lune". However, the intimacy makes Frankie uncomfortable, and they argue. She asks him to leave, but before he does, he calls the radio station and asks them to play an encore of "Clair de lune". Frankie confesses that a previous boyfriend had physically abused her, at one point causing her to have a miscarriage that made her unable to have children. Frankie invites Johnny to stay, and they watch the sunrise together.

Production

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was filming in a nearby studio, and Garry Marshall arranged for actors William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (Leonard Mccoy) to appear fully costumed, out of camera shot, behind a door in one scene to elicit genuine surprise from Al Pacino when he opened it.

In 2025, Kathy Bates, who originated the lead female role in the play, stated that Marshall declined to cast her in the film adaptation because he didn't think she looked pretty enough to be a romantic lead.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Frankie & Johnny holds an approval rating of 69%, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10.

Peter Travers in Rolling Stone wrote, "There hasn't been a sharper, sassier, more touching romantic comedy this year... there's no denying Marshall's expert timing. This is the director's best work yet... In its celebration of cautious optimism, Frankie and Johnny becomes the perfect love story for these troubled times."

Janet Maslin in The New York Times wrote, "In the skillfully manipulative hands of Garry Marshall, who has directed from a screenplay by Mr. McNally that amounts to a complete revision, Frankie and Johnny has been reshaped into foolproof schmaltz. 'Foolproof' is the operative word... But somehow Mr. Marshall, Mr. McNally and their superb leading actors are able to retain the intimacy of their material. They also retain the story's fundamental wariness about romance, even when everything about Ms. Pfeiffer and Mr. Pacino has the audience wondering why they don't simply fall into each other's arms."

Rita Kempley in The Washington Post wrote, "In its odyssey from stage to screen, Frankie & Johnny has undergone a sunny metamorphosis from ugly ducklings' romance to candy-coated, blue-collar valentine."

Time Out summed it up thus: "Pacino wears a vest and bandanna and moons through the part. Pfeiffer plays dowdy. Marshall directs as if Marty had never happened."

Much attention was paid to the controversial casting choices of Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, two actors perceived as "beautiful movie stars" with Hollywood glamour cast to play "lonely little people struggling to find love", originated by supposed "ordinary" actors Kenneth Welsh and Kathy Bates.

Stephen Farber in Movieline wrote, "Michelle Pfeiffer gives a very adept and winning performance in Frankie & Johnny, but she's simply wrong for the part of a plain, world-weary waitress. While Pfeiffer has protested to interviewers that physical beauty cannot guarantee happiness, the fact remains that anyone as gorgeous as she is has a lot more options than someone who looks like Kathy Bates (who originated the role on stage). The star casting robs the material of some of its poignancy."

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album featuring music from Frankie & Johnny, including diegetic material and incidental orchestral score, was released in 1991 on Curb Records. The album omits Terence Trent D'Arby's contribution to the film's title sequence, but includes the scored version of Debussy's "Clair de lune" employed for the film's denouement.