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Fantasy Life

Play trailer 2:15 Poster for Fantasy Life R In Theaters Mar 27 1h 31m Romance Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 12 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.
Coming Soon In Theaters Mar 27 Notify Me

Critics Reviews

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Chris Barsanti Slant Magazine 1d
2.5/4
Amanda Peet finds layers of shading in what could have been a dull and simplistic role. Go to Full Review
Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com 03/14/2025
A comedy that doesn’t just give Amanda Peet a comeback role but might feature her best screen work to date. Go to Full Review
Angie Han The Hollywood Reporter 03/12/2025
With Amanda Peet in a remarkable star turn, it marks a promising debut for writer-director Matthew Shear. Go to Full Review
Matt Oakes Silver Screen Riot 3d
It’s intimate, awkward, and loaded with possibility without ever tipping into something overt. Go to Full Review
Michael Clark Epoch Times Mar 9
3.5/5
Why I’m pulling for Shear in the future: He drew out the finest performance of Peet’s career. Equally adept at comedy and drama, Peet is one of the most underrated performers of her generation. Her range here is off the charts. Go to Full Review
Stephen Silver Broad Street Review Nov 21
Shear’s protagonist is, by far, the least interesting character in the movie. I was much more interested in the arc of Peet’s character Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Michael Y. @michaelyonis 2d Absolutely horrible movie. It was so dry and boring, that I almost fell asleep in the roughly 30 minutes I watched of the movie before walking out of the theater. See more Mike K @mike65401 3d The only redeeming quality was Amanda Peet. I'll watch any movie if she is in it. I'm not really sure how the actors got talked into being in this movie. And it didn't have an ending.... it just stopped and the credits started rolling. See more Mariah H @RT32502740 5d I saw this less than 24 hours ago and it actually beat out the Nirvanna movie for worst movie I've seen in a while. The actors weren't the issues, it was the pointless drawn out storyline, like you were watching a boring life unfold with a lot of forced drama. The angles they filmed from were also awkward. The end felt rushed and had no definitive marker; felt like just another scene. Only knew it ended because of the credits. Hardly any laughter in the theater, so not sure how this was a comedy. Perfect movie for putting the audience to sleep, as we discovered. Definitely not worth a full price movie ticket. I would have turned the movie off if it was on a streaming service. I know indie films can be a little different, but this definitely was not worth the power, money, or film/storage used to create it. See more Teresa L. @tlewiswatts 5d I didn’t ever feel that the lead character—who also wrote & directed this boring story—had any appeal. I kept waiting for this film to pick up & do something, & it just dripped along until it finally ended! A total waste of an hour & a half I’ll never get back—except for seeing Amanda Peet, who I honestly didn’t recognize until well into the film…Holland Taylor & Judd Hirsch were great to see, as was Andrea Martin. If this is a “comedy”, then I never want to see a modern comedy again. See more Clark T. @RT11871854 5d Fantasy Life is a light hearted film with such realistic dialogue that didn’t feel forced in anyway. A really good dramedy with the perfect amount of romance sprinkled in. Fantasy Life is a film that people should see because I know they will find a way to relate to it in some way, shape, or form. Its message of mental health is so important aswell. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a film in this genre this much since i watched past lives when it came out. See more Jessica Y. @Jyonis 5d 10/10 do not recommend. Watched this on a Monday Mystery Movie. Man I am so glad I did not pay full price. This movie was so horrible that I barely got past the first hour before I decided to walk out. Slow start in fact there was no start more like a false start. Slow, boring, plot was no near interesting. I saw some places considered this a Romance Comedy. The only thing comedic about it that people might actually want to watch it. See more Read all reviews
Fantasy Life

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Movie Info

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)