Fantasy Life

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Fantasy Life

R

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1h 31m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

62 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

100+ 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.

Critics Consensus

A sensitive romantic dramedy enriched with emotional maturity and a terrific turn from Amanda Peet, Fantasy Life is refreshingly grounded in plausible reality.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Apr 3

A modest yet amusingly spiky round trip from Manhattan to Martha’s Vineyard, it has the trappings of a rom-com but a trickier soulfulness about its unlikely connection.

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Matt Zoller Seitz

RogerEbert.com

Mar 30

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

Mar 27

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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Erik Childress

Movie Madness Podcast

2d

3/4

Amanda Peet gives one of her best performances amongst a strong cast in a film that avoids taking us through sitcom cliches in favor of characters with believable neuroses.

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Aaron Neuwirth

We Live Entertainment

2d

6/10

It’s Peet who delivers what’s required here, be it her comedic instincts or interactions with any number of supporting players.

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Neely Swanson

Easy Reader (California)

3d

“Fantasy Life,” written, directed and starring Matthew Shear, has moments where it shines. Shear’s own personal story, mirrored in the character of Sam, is muddled in the telling but helped by a very gifted cast.

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Colleen F

3d

Heartwarming. Ended strangely.

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Brian B

3d

This movie was an exercise in pointlessness. My wife and I wife still cant figure out what it was about. It wouldve been a good movie of the week in 1980. Fortunately, we only paid four bucks as a friend gave us a Fandango gift card. Thank you, Fandango! The acting was good, but there was no plot.

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Ali

5d

Clever and natural emotions. So much body language doing the acting. So real and refreshing. Funny and endearing. -reality-infatuation into silver linings

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Martin-Melissa G

6d

Well acted and filmed. The script wasn't sure what it wanted to be. Two folks lost, but neither a resolution at the end nor a debatable suggestion at different paths it could have been. Fine to not have a "Hollywood" ending, but didn't have a well thought to "Indy" ending either. Appears to have no arc at the end. The last few scenes at the end fell flat. Really close swing, but was a "miss" for us.

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SJW

6d

Funny, touching, real.

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Jill H

Apr 5

Good cast but the story was neither interesting or inspiring. Who needs another story about a dysfunctional Jewish family? It should not have been released during this climate of anti-semitism.

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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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