Fantasy Life

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2:15

Fantasy Life

R

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1h 31m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

83%

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47 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters and falls for the girls' mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage. A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

3d

3/4

The top-to-bottom cast of proudly eccentric actors ... ensures that every scene has moments of truth, and the filmmaker’s empathy pushes the movie over the finish line.

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Peter Travers

The Travers Take

6d

3/4

Amanda Peet fans rejoice! This tale of broken connections returns this acting sorceress to films, after 10 years, playing an aging star out to restart her career and her love life. She’s funny and fierce in all the right places.

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Thelma Adams

AARP Movies for Grownups

6d

4/5

Sometimes a great cast overflowing with character actors can elevate an otherwise modest comedy. That’s true of this charmingly offbeat rom-com.

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Robert Denerstein

Denerstein Unleashed

16h

Shear operates on a human scale, but Fantasy Life can seem a bit edgeless, and Sam’s mental issues --he's Jewish but antisemitic phrases pop intrusively into his head -- feel under-explored.

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Zach Youngs

InSession Film

21h

A

Fantasy Life is a film that catches you off guard and wins you over with a tremendous amount of heart and stellar performances.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

1d

3.5/5

A frustrated actress and a nebbishy mental case find an unexpected connection in this gentle, humanistic exploration of the heart's loneliest reaches.

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EW

4d

Cast was great. Would have liked a few more laughs but poignant, relatable in many ways, good film.

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TD

5d

Outstanding movie with excellent script and compelling characters. Wonderful performances by Amanda Peet and Alessandro Nivola.

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eli

Mar 25

The kissing scenes and the story

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Moody C

@MoodyC 2d

So is ugly dude gets hot girl movie in season again? I thought we seen last of them after those awful Seth Rogan comedies back in days. Prolly not so bad if there are actually some laughs but nothing here, not even a slight chuckle. Not a single likable character here, either. Director is also star of movie so I guess he can do whatever to lift his ego but I was truly bored to tears & wanted it to end fast so badly. He wanted to play lovable loser ala Tom Hanks but he has a Unibomber vibe instead. Ending is supposedly unpredictable but predictable for an indie. Just a wannabe Woody Allen but a total fail & waste of time. Worst indie comedy on relationships since "Is This Thing On?"

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Joey J

@JoeyNyc301 6d

Its a modern take on an ole school story. Its the supporting cast that brings everything together. Shear is of star magnitude. Alessandro is a sex symbol. Worth the $20 theater ticket.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 6d

The worldwide gross is $34,616.00.

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Matthew Shear

Director

Amanda Peet

Dianne

Matthew Shear

Sam

Alessandro Nivola

David

Judd Hirsch

Fred

Bob Balaban

Lenny

Fantasy Life: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

An anxious law school dropout (Matthew Shear) stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters and falls for the girls' mother (Amanda Peet), an actress in a rocky marriage. A smart, New York-set romantic comedy co-starring Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, and Holland Taylor. Winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award.

Director: Matthew Shear
Producer: Charlie Alderman, Christopher Dodds, Amanda Peet, Phil Keefe, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
Screenwriter: Matthew Shear
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Prospect Avenue, Burn Later Productions, Made By Limbo, AC3 Media, Charlie's Production Company
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 27, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 31m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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