After work, Frankie returns home to her apartment to find a stranger, Bobby, installing shelves, but he is revealed to be the boyfriend of her friend and neighbor Tim.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was filming in a nearby studio, and Garry Marshall arranged for actors William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (Leonard Mccoy) to appear fully costumed, out of camera shot, behind a door in one scene to elicit genuine surprise from Al Pacino when he opened it.

[5] Peter Travers in Rolling Stone wrote, "There hasn't been a sharper, sassier, more touching romantic comedy this year... there's no denying Marshall's expert timing.

"[6] Janet Maslin in The New York Times wrote, "In the skillfully manipulative hands of Garry Marshall, who has directed from a screenplay by Mr. McNally that amounts to a complete revision, Frankie and Johnny has been reshaped into foolproof schmaltz.

"[7] Rita Kempley in The Washington Post wrote, "In its odyssey from stage to screen, Frankie & Johnny has undergone a sunny metamorphosis from ugly ducklings' romance to candy-coated, blue-collar valentine.

Stephen Farber in Movieline wrote, "Michelle Pfeiffer gives a very adept and winning performance in Frankie & Johnny, but she's simply wrong for the part of a plain, world-weary waitress.

While Pfeiffer has protested to interviewers that physical beauty cannot guarantee happiness, the fact remains that anyone as gorgeous as she is has a lot more options than someone who looks like Kathy Bates (who originated the role on stage).

"[11] The Washington Post wrote that "casting Michelle Pfeiffer in a role written for Kathy Bates is going to have a definite effect on the story's dramatic weight.

"[8] Variety asserted that no one would "believe that Pfeiffer hasn't had a date since Ronald Reagan was president, and no matter how hard she tries to look plain, there is no disguising that she just gets more beautiful all the time".

"[6] The New York Times wrote, "Ms. Pfeiffer's extraordinary beauty makes her fine-tuned, deeply persuasive performance as the tough and fearful Frankie that much more surprising.

Rolling Stone wrote, "Pacino, whose recent work has been lugubrious (The Godfather Part III) or broad (Dick Tracy), shows a real flair for comic delicacy.

"[7] Variety, however, described him as "a warm, slobbering dog who can't leave people alone, Pacino's Johnny comes on real strong, and his pronounced neediness is too much at times".

"[7] Rolling Stone thought that "seeing this Royal Shakespeare Company actress cut loose with this bold and brassy performance is one of the film's zippiest treats".