Movie Night at the Al Green Theatre: Fantasy Life

After losing his job as a paralegal, Sam Stein (Matthew Shear, Mistress America, TJFF2024's Between the Temples) suffers a panic attack and stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters. The girls' mother, Dianne (Amanda Peet), is an actor whose once-promising career has stalled; she is now in a difficult marriage to a rock bassist. When her husband goes abroad on tour, Dianne and Sam discover an easy rapport. Sam joins Dianne's family to babysit for the summer on Martha's Vineyard, and he ends up in a house with the woman he pines for, her husband, the three kids, and all four grandparents, including his psychiatrist. A touching comedy that features sensitive and relatable performances by Shear and Peet, as well as a pitch-perfect supporting cast—Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Jessica Harper and Andrea Martin.