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If you are remotely a Michelle Pfeiffer fan, then you should see this movie. She is absolutely incredible. The scene in the movie that is worth five stars by itself is where Suzie Diamond(Pfeiffer) is singing Makin' Whoopie on top of the piano. It is just way to hot for words.
Even though Pfeiffer steals every scene that she is in, Jeff and Beau Bridges do a great job as a pair of piano playing brothers, who have had a lounge act over 15 years.
The movie focuses more on the trials and tribulations of Jack(Jeff Bridges). He is at a crossroads in his life. Should he stay with his brother, Frank(Beau Bridges) in the comfortable lounge act that they have had, or should he pursue his passion for playing jazz? Frank had always been comfortable doing the same act, because he had a family to feed.
When the brothers feel like their act is getting into a rut, they decide that they need to hire a female singer. After going through the process of listening to all of these different women, they finally decide to go with Suzie Diamond(Michelle Pfeiffer). When she finally gets adjusted to the act, Suzie shines.
What Suzie does for Jack is to open the door for him to realize that he needs to take a chance with his life and follow his passion. In the meantime, Suzie becomes interested in Jack and even though Frank is telling Jack to stay away from Suzie personally, Jack simply cannot resist.
Jack eventually does make the hard transition of breaking with his brother. Jeff and Beau Bridges do an excellent job in some scenes that explore the dynamic of sibling relationships.
One of the best things about this movie is the soundtrack. Dave Grusin does a wonderful job with the score. In fact, I think that he should have won the Oscar for it. Michelle Pfeiffer's voice is absolutely incredible. On the soundtrack, she sings Makin' Whoopee and My Funny Valentine. No one will ever sing these songs as well as she does.
The Fabulous Baker Boys is a very adult film, so I would not recommend it for children at all. But, for the adult music lover, I would definitely see it.
In his debut feature, writer-director Steven Kloves' took some very old plot-lines and with care, skill and sheer respect for the film medium, created a minor masterpiece which bears up to repeated viewing and guarantees hours of endless entertainment - trust me, I've seen this film so many times, it's embarrassing to reveal the exact number.
For 31 years, Frank and Jack Baker have played piano together. Child stars turned lounge lizards, the two peddle their middle-of-the-road tunes in any bar they can book. Times are tough, and the once fabulous act has grown tired, hackneyed and somewhat embarrassing, especially for younger brother Jack (Jeff Bridges), who's embittered and weary of the muzak he plays, the dead-end life he leads. Older brother Frank (Beau Bridges) sees their act as a business, a means of supporting his wife and children, something to do in order to survive. Unlike Jack, Frank has no dreams of musicality and, quite honestly, he's a hack who doesn't really like what he does, but who is content to keep on doing it.
As the duo hit a particularly lean patch, they decide to take on a singer to spice up their act, and after a hilarious montage of terrible wannabes (including a particularly inspired Jennifer Tilly), the dubiously named Suzie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer) slinks into their lives and so begins a happy professional collaboration that garners them success, respect and a small measure of fame. Personally, however, Suzie's arrival marks the beginning of the end for Frank and Jack. An ex-social escort too proud to tell the many tearful tales she has, she's a kindred soul for Jack, two cynical losers who may have a chance at happiness.
Things turn sour when a commitment phobic Jack bails on Suzie, and she leaves the act. The Baker brothers are reduced again to small-time acts, and in a particularly demeaning engagement, Jack and Frank's long seething resentment and frustrations come to the surface. When the dust settles, each goes his own way, their relationship changed but intact. The question is, would Jack ever stand a chance with Suzie?
This film is a smoldering scorcher, packed with pitch perfect performances and a script that is as surprisingly deft as its ideas are old and unoriginal. Steven Kloves' dialogue is music to the ears. He expertly captures the tone and mood of the characters, and crystallizes years of hurt, longing and pain in short, succinct sentences that speak volumes. Using a confident, sure hand, he steers his sleepy, slow-burn script to classic status. The pace is just right, and the languid charm the film possesses is one of its greatest assets.
Of course, much of the film's credit must also go to the actors, all of whom are flawless. The top-lining brothers give career-high performances in this film. Beau embodies the domesticated suburban quality which defines Frank so fully that it is hard to imagine him as being any different in real life. Although a somewhat pathetic character, Beau nonetheless finds the dignity and respectability in Frank and it is his clear and honest portrayal of these qualities which make his story so much more poignant and touching than it appears on paper. If there were a "sad" life amongst the trio of leads, Frank's would be the saddest simply because he's chosen to be oblivious to his own disappointments and regrets - the price of fatherhood and of being a husband and provider have forced his hands and shaped his life, and Beau's performance, made up of small revealing gestures and silent looks tells the whole story behind the man.
As Jack, Jeff Bridges again turns in a startling portrait of a man gone wrong fighting his way back. Jack Baker has talent, and he knows it; he sticks with Frank because he's lazy, but also because deep down inside, he's fearful of taking the chance and not having anyone to blame should he fail. Everything about Jeff's performance speaks of Jack's abject misery, anger and the restlessness that's always chafing against him. Not only does he look the part, he seems to become the character. It is hard to imagine another actor being able to so fully play the part with the same level of complexity, depth of emotion and completeness. It helps tremendously, as well, that he lights up the screen beautifully opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in a career-altering role.
Long relegated to window dressing or showing up in undeserving projects, Pfeiffer's career suffered a major setback due to her involvement in Grease 2. With Sweet Liberty and Into the Night, however, her luck began to change; when The Witches of Eastwick came along, she became a newly-minted star. The Fabulous Baker Boys, however, gave her credibility. As the sexy siren who wreaks havoc in the lives of two brothers, she's a modern-day Lauren Bacall, sensual, intelligent and bruised. Pfeiffer's Oscar-nominated performance here is stunning; there's not a moment where she makes a wrong move or wanders into shaky terrain, and she completes the incredibly realized triangle that Kloves' script has engineered.
The scene of Pfeiffer crooning "Makin' Whoopee" whilst lolling about on top of a baby grand piano is often sited as the highlight of modern cinema this film offers. I suggest an alternative: the scene where Suzie makes her stage debut with the Baker boys. Nervous but too tough to admit it, she drops her cue cards, swears colorfully into the microphone and gropes about for a recovery. A frantic Frank then forces a bemused Jack into an impromptu duet of "Ten Cents A Dance" before Suzie returns in fine form and the three of them begin to make lounge music history. As it plays, this scene is amusing, and arguably slight, but the subtext of three desperate souls relying on each other, clinging onto the shreds of dignity they are left with in order to make a shot at something better, and succeeding, is both exhilarating and melancholic. The audience knows that before they go on the stage, the act was nothing; when they leave, they would begin the journey of success and eventually falling apart. The time on that stage was the one moment everything was perfect for them. In a canny and sublime way, The Fabulous Baker Boys captures this magical tension and wonder amongst them, and sustains it for its entire duration.
This is one the best films you'll ever see. Trust me on this.
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