Fandango

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!!

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.

On one level, "Fandango" may just seem like another nostalgia piece - in this case focusing on some college students in 1971 Texas. But it certainly has its moments. Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson make the most of their roles. If the movie has any problem, it's that it paved the way for director Kevin Reynolds to direct Kevin Costner in the brainless "Waterworld" (which itself paved the way for - gulp - "The Postman").

But one can ignore those and just bask in the fun here. You just may want to experience what the movie portrays. Also starring Sam Robards and Glenne Headly.

So, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you watch this "Fandango"?

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.

"There's nothing wrong with going nowhere, son. It's a privilege of youth": I think this quote may best summarize "Fandango", which gives much to think about, also in comparison to what is considered the first of all road pictures, "Easy rider". The myth and the out of time fashion of these road trips along US highways, still today pulsing with sense of liberty, is an element of attraction for the public of every time, mainly if accompanied by some good and emotionally powerful music. "Easy rider" was set in the 60's, when the myth of liberty was at its height, it was the celebration of the hippie era, of an ideology and watching it after 40 years, conveys a sense of tenderness towards the ingenuity of these bikers going nowhere, believing in freedom from all constrictions but unconscious of what they were really looking for. "Fandango" is set in 1971 but shot in 1985, US and universal history have taught a lot of things, and what is evident there, mainly in contrast with "Easy rider", is the deep consciousness of these mates, they perfectly know what they are looking for, they want to escape from what is hanging over their future lives, knowing that the myth of life on the road has lost all credibility. It is more a celebration of youth, of an age when you think that friendship and fun will last for ever, but you know that time must come to an end, and you need to do something, in this case an unforgettable road-trip, in order to postpone that end and escape from the forthcoming adulthood. Fandango, although extremely funny, almost irreverent, in situations and dialogues, leaves traces of deep nostalgia, and melancholia, pervaded as it is by such fear about life, in terms of responsibility, burdens, troubles. The skydiving adventure meant as the most extreme searching for life, and a desperate way to exorcise the coming of adulthood, is the most effective moment of the movie. Fandango shows some clichés, which however are part of this kind of movies, it is deeply American in the passionate way it celebrates life, freedom and the feeling of being "born to be wild", through a strong visual impact. However, it is undoubtedly entertaining, moving, thought-provoking, and emotionally engaging: really worth seeing, at least only for the wonderful locations, which frame very good performances, mainly a young and deserving Kevin Costner.