Fantasy Life
A frustrated actress and a nebbishy mental case find an unexpected connection in this gentle, humanistic exploration of the heart's loneliest reaches.
“Fantasy Life” is gently humanistic, drolly funny and very Jewish. It’s about a nebbishy young man, a mental case who failed to launch, who becomes a nanny for an aging, frustrated actress and winds up falling hard for her. It’s got a Woody Allen vibe with a splash of “Seinfeld” snark to it.
Amanda Peet is the above-the-title star, and the supporting cast is simply terrific: Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Alessandro Nivola, Holland Taylor, Jessica Harper. Zosia Mamet and Sheng Wang show up in bit parts. This is a prime example of a “I just liked spending time with this cast” kind of movie.
But the real center of the piece is Matthew Shear, who co-stars and also wrote and directed in his debut behind the camera after a busy but low-profile career in front of it. He plays Sam Stein, a guy who was the editor of the law review at his school but dropped out due to “mental health stuff,” as he puts it.
He’s been toiling away at a low-level gig at a law firm — quite literally in the basement — but as the story opens he’s let go, bringing on a terrible (but also terribly funny) panic attack at a bookstore.
Sam’s a sweet, timid guy but also one it can be hard for the audience to feel empathy for. He’s socially awkward to the nth degree and tends to make others feel uncomfortable. Despite having no job or health insurance, he still goes to regular therapy sessions with his psychiatrist, Dr. Freddy (Hirsch), due to the largess of his well-to-do parents.
This is that particular corner of the cinematic universe where everyone enjoys nice apartments, therapists, nannies, clothes, restaurant excursions and so forth despite nobody ever seeming to work very much.
Dr. Freddy’s receptionist (also his wife) mentions that their son is in need of some babysitting help, and lacking other prospects Sam takes them up on it. Soon enough he’s the full-time “manny” (male nanny) for their three daughters. As the seasons change he even goes with the family to spend the summer in Cape Cod.
The dad, David (Nivola), is a music guy who got an unexpected call-up to tour with a major rock band, which keeps getting extended so he’s gone for months at a time. His wife, Dianne (Peet), was once a fairly big-name actress in film and TV but now, at 51, she hasn’t worked in a decade and is starting to think she never will again.
The pull between Diane and Sam is more familial than romantic at first. He’s her employee and a lot younger than her, so there’s that. (Sam looks/acts about 25, though we later learn he’s somewhat older.) And he finds himself genuinely bonding with the daughters, though they’re kinda spoiled brats. So Diane appreciates his presence and attention more than anything.
But things have been pretty cool for a while with David, and it eventually becomes evident that Sam has a crush on her. She doesn’t fully return the attraction, but she’s feeling very unappreciated as a wife, mom and actress, so it’s hard for her to resist a guy so devoted to her, even if he is pretty much a walking trainwreck of a person.
Despite being a character who’s passive and reactive, Shear gives Sam a sad-sack sort of charm that lures us in. He’s a guy who’s had a lot of privilege in life but failed to build upon it. You just feel like if he could get a break in his career and love life, he could turn into a really good and interesting person.
Peet has the showier, more proactive part and is the most accessible to the audience. Not unlike Diane, her career has slowed down some as she’s gotten older. (Though she’s still a stunner.) Hopefully she’ll find a nice third act in smaller, quirky films like this.
This is a movie of little moments, not big events. It’s more about the small things that tell you a lot about people. Like Diane getting surprised by an autograph seeker, probably her first in a decade, and we can see how much it means to her. Or Sam and David sharing a game of pickup basketball where they unwittingly comment upon their love triangle and how they both feel about Diane.
The screenplay could have used a few more spins through the rewrite cycle. Sometimes things are left so understated — like the ending — that they feel almost a CliffsNotes version of something bigger and better. At 92 minutes, this is the rarest of films these days that I felt could have stood to be longer.
“Fantasy Life” is an ironic title for a movie about two people who feel stuck in their lives, without even anything to dream about. In the end they wind up becoming each other’s dream, if for a little while.