Reception
In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin praised Kevin Reynolds' "way with the sight gags and off-the-wall humor that make this a notable debut. And he brings a good deal of feeling to the moments in which the film's twin specters - Vietnam and maturity - intrude upon the frantic festivities." The Globe and Mail also praised the direction: "Reynolds shows an uncanny confidence with the camera, a sureness which is backed up by a powerful visual sensitivity and an ear for language, especially the vernacular of Texas, where the film is set."
Leonard Maltin called it "fresh and likeable, if uneven." Quentin Tarantino was quoted in Empire as follows: "Fandango is one of the best directorial debuts in the history of cinema. I saw Fandango five times at the movie theater and it only played for a fucking week, all right."
Modern reappraisals have focused on the storytelling and character development, surprising for a directorial debut. Reviewer Bryan Pope critiqued the DVD version as, "Breezy and confident, and with a wing dinger of a soundtrack, Fandango is the definition of a sleeper. Before the final credits roll, its characters will have downed a few beers, faced fears, forged new friendships, tested old ones, and searched with some success for the answers to life's important questions. And, yes, one of them will even have danced the fandango under the Texas sky."
Although Steven Spielberg was disappointed with the finished film, Amblin Entertainment is still credited. Fandango did not receive a widespread release, grossing less than US$100,000. However, through television and video, Fandango grew in popularity and, in July 2010, fans held a 25th anniversary celebration at the filming locations.
Suzy Amis and Sam Robards followed their characters' fates and married in 1986. Reynolds and Costner would later go on to work together on two more films, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld. Reynolds was Costner's uncredited second unit director and set advisor for the western epic and Costner directorial debut Dances with Wolves.Also, debuting on May 28, 2012, Reynolds and Costner would collaborate once again on the History Channel mini-series Hatfields & McCoys.
Read more about this topic: Fandango (1985 film)
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“But in the reception of metaphysical formula, all depends, as regards their actual and ulterior result, on the pre-existent qualities of that soil of human nature into which they fall—the company they find already present there, on their admission into the house of thought.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)