Fantasy Life
When anxiety-prone law school dropout Sam (Matthew Shear, "Mistress America," TV's 'The Alienist') loses his latest job, he has an anxiety attack in a bookstore. Later, after discussing the incident with his therapist, Fred (Judd Hirsch) asks Sam if he ever babysits, stating that his son-in-law David (Alessandro Nivola) is in a bit of a pickle. Sam takes the job caring for Zoe (Romy Fay), Claire (Callie Santoro) and Emma (Riley Vinson), becoming the family manny when he hits it off with their mother, fellow mental health sufferer Dianne (Amanda Peet), but the two find themselves engaging in a "Fantasy Life."
Laura's Review: B-
Writer/director Matthew Shear based his feature filmmaking debut on his own experiences being a manny while battling mental health issues, wanting to make a film about the more everyday aspects of the issue. What he's come up with is an off-kilter romcom set within a sprawling Jewish family that errs on the side of restraint despite its combustible climax. The film features a who's who of character actors melding into a rich ensemble, but the film's biggest asset is Peet in a welcome return to the big screen after a ten year hiatus.
After an unappealing introduction where Sam tells his therapist Fred he has 'internalized anti-semitism,' an idea which goes nowhere, we begin to see a man awkward in his own skin, an endearingly pathetic bumbler. David hasn't even made it out of his apartment after introducing Sam to his three girls and rattling off a few instructions when Sam breaks a glass, then stands there apologizing as David quickly sweeps it up. Meanwhile we meet the lady of the house lunching with her agent, Kim (Julie Claire), who responds to her client's worry that her career is going nowhere by suggesting she create her own material or begin a podcast. Just when she's feeling forgotten, David springs his own opportunity to go on tour to Australia for three months, but although he's laid the groundwork for Diane to ask him not to, she cannot deny him his moment. Suddenly Diane's spending more time with Sam and the two discover they enjoy hanging out together, comrades in insecure arms.
While David is touring, the rest of his family summers at his in-laws Nantucket home where Diane's dad Lenny (Bob Balaban) is continually irked by Sam. When one of the girls runs into the house screaming 'Sam is dying!,' it's Lenny who drives her back to find the man recovering from another anxiety attack, having forgotten to take his Xanax, the moment giving Lenny ammunition. But Diane protects Sam, even taking his hand as they walk together, leading him to go in for a kiss later during a private moment. Diane goes along with it, but after a minute pulls back, tells him she can't and suggests there is a lovely girl out there for him. Then David returns, sporting a mustache, what appears to be the beginning of a drinking problem and suspicions regarding Sam, suspicions which too many cocktails turn into a coarse accusation when the entire three generations are gathered around the dinner table. Rather than negate them, Diane goes along and Sam finds himself on the next ferry home.
The film's focus shifts from Sam in its first act to Diane in its midsection, the actress navigating a difficult period by cocooning herself within a family nest which Sam has become a part of and Shear's attempt to fill in some of Sam's back story via an unplanned run in with old schoolmate Lauren (Alana Raquel Bowers) feels more like padding than illumination. But while the attraction between Sam and Diane is believable, the tension in Diane's marriage to David is less well understood, the two still engaged in flirtatious behavior. It is a shock when Diane tells her therapist Dr. Greene (Holland Taylor) in the film's penultimate scene that she hasn't had sex in five years.
It is a joy to see a stunning actress like Peet embrace a few wrinkles, aging which happens to assist her character's doldrums, a woman we learn feels guilt over her entitled life in addition to her career slump. Shear is a character is his mid thirties who stalled out in his early twenties, struggling to make his next progression, something which the filmmaker insinuates has been jumpstarted by Diane's attraction to him. He does succeed in portraying a sprawling Jewish clan, Andrea Martin, always a welcome addition, Fred's wife and receptionist Helen, and Jessica Harper as Lenny's wife Toby. When gathered together, the conversation flows, spiked with the ribbing and bickering that accompanies extended families. The cast also includes standup comic Sheng Wang as Sam's roommate Adam and Zosia Mamet as Adam's girlfriend Jenny.
"Fantasy Life" is an enjoyable, low key work about two people with similar hang-ups drifting into each others' lives then out of them again, but it's given Amanda Peet a role to embrace and hers is a welcome return.
Greenwich Entertainment released "Fantasy Life" in select theaters on 3/27/26, opening wide on 4/3/26.
