R | 1h 31m | Drama, Comedy | 2026
An actor operating in the widest margins of the industry for 15 odd years, Matthew Shear was a most unlikely guy to write, co-produce, and play the lead in his first feature film as a director. Add to that the unusually high caliber of the featured cast, and it’s easy to say that Shear pulled off a minor miracle. His cast is so impressive, yet Shear is the least interesting performer in the film. This includes three preteen girls playing sisters.
In many ways, Shear’s movie owes a whole lot to over half of Woody Allen’s filmography. Shear’s character, Sam, is loosely based on his own (low energy) personality; he’s a neurotic New York man in love with a woman way out of his league (Amanda Peet as Dianne). Unlike the female romantic leads in Allen’s movies, Dianne is older than Sam.
Adventures in Babysitting
A failed law student and recently fired paralegal, Sam considers himself to be a self-hating Jew, something his psychiatrist, Fred (Judd Hirsch), doesn’t quite buy. On his way out after his most recent session, he meets Fred’s wife and secretary, Helen (Andrea Martin). She feels sorry for Sam and offers him a job babysitting her granddaughters.
In most instances, asking a 30ish man to look after preteen girls would be a patently awful idea, but Helen has known Sam since he was a child and recognizes that he’s just not the type to be worried about.
Semi-desperate for folding cash, Sam sheepishly agrees to the offer. In the next scene, he meets Helen’s flighty son, David (Alessandro Nivola). A bassist in a fictional jam band led by the real Warren Haynes (founder of Gov’t Mule), David rushes through a laundry list of instructions for Sam, who absorbs about half of them.
Sam’s first night sitting with the girls doesn’t go well. Recognizing Sam’s nervousness, the girls switch over to full overbearing, totally obnoxious mode. What they know but Sam doesn’t yet, is that David and Dianne, their parents, are separated.
No Surgery
Like Peet herself, the character Dianne is a mid-50s actress past her (typical cinematic leading lady) prime, something she has more or less accepted. Like Rachel Weisz in the new TV series “Vladimir,” Peet has avoided cosmetic surgery yet is still radiant and quite attractive.
Shear hits his narrative sweet spot in the middle act, when David is away on an Oceania tour while Sam, Dianne, and the girls vacation in the Chilmark area of Martha’s Vineyard.
Because Dianne’s parents (Bob Balaban and Jessica Harper) wish to spend a lot of time with her daughters, she and Sam are frequently left alone together.
Initially ambivalent regarding Sam, Dianne slowly becomes drawn to him, but not so much in a physical way. It’s because he looks at and pays attention to her in a manner David hasn’t in years.
Channeling Allen
I respect, if not totally admire, what Shear was attempting to do here. He channels Allen well without totally aping him, in that he makes the older Dianne character a desirable woman. This is far more realistic and less icky than Allen’s usual “early May, late December” approach in his similarly themed films.
Far be it from me to provide advice to Shear, but wearing three-and-a-half major hats on your first movie probably wasn’t a good idea. Writing and directing is more than enough and requires the most gray matter.
I haven’t seen enough of Shear in other productions to form an educated opinion, but based on what’s displayed here, he should have cast someone else as Sam. Simply put, Shear as Sam isn’t very interesting or relatable, and Shear as an actor is average at best.
In all fairness to Shear, Allen shouldn’t have cast himself as most of the leads in his movies, either. As Clint Eastwood said in “Magnum Force,” “a man’s got to know his limitations,” and Shear clearly hasn’t recognized his.
Future Projects
I’m quite sure that, if given the chance, Shear will go on to make better films in the future. He already knows how to linger and give space to scenes where other directors might be less patient. He’s great at character arcs. Sam, Dianne, and David end far differently than they begin. This is the most important facet of effective and lasting storytelling.
Where Shear shines the brightest and why I’m pulling for him in the future: He drew out perhaps the finest performance of Peet’s career here.
An actress equally adept at comedy and drama, Peet is one of the most underrated performers of her generation. Her range here is off the charts.
It’s what Dianne suggests through eye and body language that Peet truly delivers. Dianne is damaged but not broken. She shows how older women can be far more desirable and emotionally and intellectually appealing than those half their age.
Dianne doesn’t want to be lusted after as much as she desires attention and genuine respect, and Peet makes sure she gets both.
The film opens in theaters on March 27.
‘Fantasy Life’
Director: Matthew Shear
Stars: Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch
Running Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: March 27, 2026
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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