Fantasy Life

Play trailer

2:15

Fantasy Life

R

Mar 2026

1h 31m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

71 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.

Read Critics Reviews

Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 7

It's very warm and wry; a very intelligent New York rom-com.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

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.

Go to Full Review

Hannah Brown

Jerusalem Post

3d

An offbeat, very funny film, a kind of psychologically astute rom-com, that puts neurotic New Yorkers front and center for the first time in a while.

Go to Full Review

Laura Hiros

Rincón de cine

May 8

2.5/5

Fantasy Life is an interesting story for a very specific viewer. [Full Review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Beandrea July

FilmWeek (LAist)

May 7

I really enjoyed this! The thematic star of this movie is really mental health.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

ag

May 11

boring- too long- characters not likeable

See more

Andrew E

Apr 13

Wonderful film with a great cast.

See more

terrypofsf

Apr 13

Very simple plot--slow moving, satisfying.

See more

Connor C

Apr 12

Quiet, but thoughtful & occasionally pretty funny & moving.

See more

Colleen F

Apr 8

Heartwarming. Ended strangely.

See more

Brian B

Apr 8

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.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Matthew Shear

Director

Amanda Peet

Dianne

Matthew Shear

Sam

Alessandro Nivola

David

Judd Hirsch

Fred

Bob Balaban

Lenny

Fantasy Life: Trailer 1

2:15

View more videos

View more photos

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
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2026
Runtime: 1h 31m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)