Fandango

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....

This movie holds a special place in my heart. I watched it for the first time in high school with one of my best friends. We spent our college years endlessly quoting it to each other. I revisit it every few years, and always take away something new. It's wonderfully acted, and brilliantly edited and shot. It perfectly captures that bittersweet moment when youth ends and adulthood begins. Its swagger hides a real vulnerability and melancholy. Really a lovely little film.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is my favorite movie of all time. I lost track a long time ago as to how many times I have seen this movie on tape. What a GREAT MOVIE. Kevin Reynolds clearly has this nailed down. Fandango is a movie about 5 fraternity brothers in the early 1970's who call themselves the 'Groovers', who decide to take off on a 'fairwell fandango' as a college graduation right of passage. We learn that they did the same 'fandango' earlier in their collegiate years, and in part, the purpose of this trip is to dig up a relic of that first adventure as the way to close out this chapter of their lives. Along the way, they take part in some wild adventures, deal with being drafted into the war in Vietnam, and meet some unique characters, all of which become the subject of the movie.

I love this movie for a number of reasons. #1, it takes me back to my collegiate days, and the craziness that seemed to define them. #2, it allows me to appreciate the people that populated each and every moment of college, as the characters in Fandango are eerily reminiscent of the fraternity brothers, classmates and band members that I spent 4 years of my life with. #3, it makes me realize that life is fairly short, and if we do it right...we'll be the better because of it.

The music in the movie seems tailored for every scene, even though there are cuts from great artists like Blind Faith, Elton John and Pat Metheney. In particular, the Metheney works in the film stand out. I cannot help but think of the wedding and final scenes when I am listening to Metheney's cuts from his 'Wichita Falls' and 'Works' tapes.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to strip off the baggage in life for an hour and a half one weekend, flip the pages back a few years(or more) to the days that were more innocent and raw, and think about the people that were so important to you as you grew up into adulthood. And if you happen to like the shape of Texas like I do, you'll appreciate this movie even more.(see the movie and you'll know what I am talking about) Go ahead....take this wild ride for all its worth. You will not regret it!!

I saw this film this morning, I was transporting to those old films in which Spielberg is th executive producer, thisis a good movie, very nostalgic, this movie was never showd in Colombia and i am so happy to have the chance to watch it

Those were days

It starts looking cool enough, I thought, although not overwhelmingly original: under a blue, blue sky, four young guys, as different as can be, drive to seemingly nowhere in a beautiful car from the roaring fifties. Singing, drinking, screaming. It looks like they're having a lot of fun, which of course will prove to be a doomed mood: their lives are suspended between youth and whatever comes next, just like them driving in the middle of Texas' desert landscapes with the unlikely goal of attending one of the mates' wedding... Everything is on the verge of changing for them; their friendship, the way they lead their lives, the way they consider the future.

What Kevin Reynolds achieves here masterfully is making the whole thing look, at first, like just another buddy-movie. Yet I think there is a lot more to it. Fun, slapstick, grotesque situations, and still, every time or so, we're given a hint that those people have no idea where they're going, that they try to ignore the (real) world that's waiting for them.

The one most representative of that borderline state and who remains, by default, the big brother telling the others where to go next, is Gardner Barnes, played by Kevin Costner. Very young-looking (to whoever, like me, hasn't seen him in a picture made 16 years ago), he radiates a kind of natural quality, telling us he may just be the most frightened and unsure one of those four mostly-losers. Anyone who has apreciated Costner in at least one movie should definitely have a look at this one.

There'll never be anything even remotely tragic in this story, nor any solid insight into any of those old kids. Not even into Gardner, the one with a haunting love on his mind, who claims he's never token a woman seriously. Some moments might strike you as either clichee, heavy or childish... Yet, after the finale, Reynolds has gotten us where we're supposed to be: feeling the dry cut apart from the time where our dreams where, to ourselves, a solid option for what our future might look like. The loss of what kept the world together until this very moment.

I should add that, having listened precisely in my beginning twenties to the Pat Metheny Group like mad, I was totally taken away when the whole wedding scene appeared to be choreographed around two of his magic compositions.

This movie has something fresh, universal, sincere. It's full of ideas and benefits from a truly inventive photography as well as a from a perfectly well-tuned rythm.

Anyone on a day where he feels up to re-live those cheers AND nostalgia, in the company of a bunch of excellent actors, would do himself a favor by taking a while to watch it. And, maybe, reconciliate with that little mix of sadness and joy we think we should have left behind us.