Fandango (1985)

I first saw this movie as a young, nine or ten year-old impressionable kid, so there are some sentimental attachments to this. This movie is very clever. As a comedy, it's amazing; some of the ideas (the parachute scene, for example) are absolutely genius. On top of all this is an amazing soundtrack, in which each song fits each scene eerily beautifully. When I first saw this movie I had just started guitar lessons and was leaning toward hard rock. This movie turned me on to some other heavy, tear-jerker type songs in "It's too late" (Carole King) and "Can't find my way home" by Blind Faith. Beautiful stuff. One of the few Elton John songs I like, "Saturday night's alright" as well as "Spooky" are perfectly placed. But nothing is placed as perfect as Pat Metheney's "It's for you". Now, I was a hard rocker and had only heard of Metheney when I saw this. This tune is so beautiful and haunting on it's own, and where it is in the movie, I almost dare you not to cry. Someone I know thought the movie was also sad, so it'ts unique. I would still classify it as a comedy more than anything. Funny stuff.

Fmovies: I first saw Fandango in 1990 on BBC2 by chance and as I knew I would be out part of the night I also recorded it. In the end I never went out but it was fate that I got to see and also record one of my favorite films of all time. How this film has never made it to DVD or video release is beyond me, but hey who am I. I'm not American and I never went to Vietnam but this film really hit a cord with me especially at a time when the world was going to war with Iraq and people genuinely thought that if it turned into a holy war we would eventually get drafted. I thought this was by far one of Kevin costners best roles as the cocky Gardner Barns who genuinely cared about his friends and what might happen to them, so before they go off to war they go and find a bottle of champagne who they have christened DOM which is their last link with youth and the good times they shared. It is a very subtle and poignant film and the characterization is played superbly. There are some extremely funny moments in this film especially the sky diving scene together mixed with very thoughtful and endearing moments one in particular when Phil shakes Doormans hand and they say goodbye to each other for the last time. All this along with a wonderful sound track by Pat Matheny and Lyle Mays made this a film I cannot speak highly enough of. Go and see it and also by all Pat Mathenys work which I have. Incidentally everyone who I have ever shown this film to have thoroughly enjoyed it and asked where they can get it, alas I could not help with their request.

Love it - Even tho it's hard to say exactly WHY...

It might be the fantastic soundtrack, the great shots, the skydiving scene, the wedding scene that makes me cry, the use of 'Can't Find My Way Home" by Blind Faith (one of my favorite songs) -- but this film is in my top 5 of all time.

Occasionally you have to suspend your disbelief to the point of it being painful, but the honesty, the great acting, and the unpretentious feeling of the film and the actors completely draws me in every time.

Go rent or buy it. Now. If you ever wanted to throw away all of the pressures and responsibilities of life, only to find yourself choosing to go back to them, you'll love this movie.

Fandango fmovies. Spielberg disowned his involvement in this (read: 'funding')...it's not hard to see why.

-- Spielberg's camera is a lifeless automaton, it simply records stories. His camera has nothing to do with the story itself... Reynolds' camera is self-aware, acknowledged, and is part of the *visual narrative*: an active participant in the art.

-- Spielberg's only concern is telling stories...this has no real 'story'. Nothing 'happens': it's all about a state of mind.

-- Spielberg deliberately tells everything in the manner of a simpleton's comic book, as neatly laid out storyboards that a mental 10-year old can effortlessly digest...Fandango cannot be described in comic book terms; it is based on the indecipherable chalkboard scrawls of a stoner.

Here we meet the Groovers (the Fab Four), plus one inert member (the 'fifth Beatle') who undertake a journey through moviedom, including "Giant", "Ten Commandments", "Badlands", etc. There's no goal -- the 'goal' ends up being a chance to wink at the audience -- other than the journey itself. It's all about living in the moment, the consequences are never encountered. This is everything that "Stand By Me" is and so much more.

It is visually rooted in constructed memories...note the photographs as bookends. Along the way, Reynolds 'constructs' the war with fireworks and tombstones. This is cinematic eloquence.

It is also self-referential; the 'construction' of the wedding banquet is carried out in precisely the same way as the movie itself was made: with a little help from Reynolds' friends.

The capper is the ceremony and reception dance. The dance is a fandango, but the musical platform is not, it is the gifted Metheny's "It's For You". All of the movie's emotions *visually* swirl and coalesce around the song/dance amalgam and eventually resolve within it...this is beyond mere movie soundtracks: this is a magic carpet ride for the soul. For one minute, a world disappears, and another world constructed just for two takes its place -- a entire world of emotion expressed through the physical action of lovers (a dance, a kiss that almost was, a facial expression of realization), instead of through words. Is the construction 'real', or is it the stuff of dreams? Reynolds lets us decide.

It's a shame the boys went on to give us the execrable "Robin Hood" and the pointlessly outsized "Waterworld". But for one brief instant, they got it oh so right.

I stumbled across this movie years ago while flipping thru the channels late one night, and instantly fell in love with it. It's easily one of the best movies of the genre; there's an emotional resonance here that's hard to come by in any movie, let alone one that *appears* to be a standard coming-of-age/buddy/road-trip flick.

It's also (in my humble opinion) probably Kevin Costner's finest piece of work next to 'Dances With Wolves'. Costner's role as Gardner is one that seems perfectly suited to him; I can imagine anyone else being able to pull it off.

The soundtrack is *perfect*, especially the wedding sequence - besides being a great flick, this movie turned me on to Pat Metheny! The soundtrack, unfortunately, was never released, although I liked the movie enough to assemble the tracks individually.

This is one of those rare movies that leaves one with a nice afterglow, even after many viewings....much like 'Diner' or 'American Graffiti'. I've seen 'Fandango' way too many times to count, and am on my second or third VHS copy - I'm hoping this comes out on DVD sometime soon....

Five friends (the self-named "groovers") go on one final fandango before graduating college and going on to life, war, marriage, etc. Their destination is the Texas desert where they plan to dig up Dom, the friend they buried on the night their group was formed.

The film is a wonderful mix of poignant life lessons and slapstick hilarity. The crew consists of slacker Gardner, life-troubled kenneth, weenie extraordinaire Phil, overweight divinity student Dorman, and unconscious Lester (the fifth groover). As they wind their way through the Texas scrub on their last adventure, each of them faces the approaching life after college in his own way, reacting to his fears and the failings of his friends in the draft years of the Vietnam War.

An unknown Kevin Costner pulls off the role of Gardner Barnes with an easy perfection that would convince you there must be something of Gardner in him. He's utterly convincing as the footloose rascal on a mission to evade life.

The other performances are respectable, including that of Judd Nelson in the role of uptight ROTC cadet Phil Hicks who despises the moral ambiguity of the other characters while starving for their affection.

Though this movie is not a well-known blockbuster, it holds up well against others of the same genre. Definitely worth the price of a rental, and with the February 2005 DVD release, a good addition to your collection. Good music, good humor, and great fun.