The Fabulous Baker Boys
Composite Score: 83.7
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ellie Raab, Xander Berkeley, Dakin Matthews, and Albert Hall
Director: Steve Kloves
Writer: Steve Kloves
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
MPAA Rating: R
Box Office: $18.43 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
The Fabulous Baker Boys is Steve Kloves’s film about brother pianists in Seattle who hire a singer to spice up their duo act and revive their marketability. The film stars Jeff and Beau Bridges as the brothers Jack and Frank Baker and Michelle Pfeiffer as Susie Diamond, the escort turned singer who changes their whole scene. The film explores romance, music, passion, and selling out as the audience watches the brothers’ unremarkable act suddenly become a hit again leading to tension, both sexual and actual, among the trio. Pfeiffer’s performance gained her plenty of wins and nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Actress in a Leading role, which she lost to Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy (hindsight huh). The Bridges brothers add solid performances of their own, and the film’s jazzy score from Dave Grusin manages to put the whole thing over the top.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Really and truly, aside from one of the most iconic scenes in film history and some good music, The Fabulous Baker Boys ends up being a fairly unremarkable film. The romance is just alright; Jeff Bridges had better chemistry with Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart and Michelle Pfeiffer was more believable with Michael Douglas in Quantumania. The brothers’ story feels remarkably familiar and even a bit watered down for most of the film; although, it is fun watching the two actors channel some of their brotherly rivalry into their characters, lending a bit of reality to an otherwise pretty flat story. Even Jack’s personal story of self-realization has been told better in at least fifty other films, even ones like La La Land, which are about not just musicians, but specifically jazz pianists. The whole film feels just a little too copied and pasted (again besides the music and performances and that one scene) to warrant any kind of rewatch.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
Musically, Dave Grusin was in his proverbial bag on The Fabulous Baker Boys. From the jump, the film’s score of smooth jazz lets you know where the action is happening (Seattle) and who it’s all about (musicians). Even the piano work of the Baker Boys, which is Grusin’s own performance for the most part, carries within it the shifting dynamics of the film, playing softly and unremarkably during their early gigs before morphing into something more skilled and passionate when Susie joins the brothers until it ultimately hits the point of climax after she leaves, with both playing their own style of music. It’s a score that underlines exactly what is going on in the film and adds enough to it to keep the whole thing interesting.
The three leads do their part to also spice up the otherwise unremarkable script. Beau Bridges feels born to the straight man role, playing so contrastingly against his brother that you almost forget that the two men are related (both on film and in reality). His straight-laced husband and father, Frank, serves as an ideal foil for his brother’s character, allowing that storyline to really shine. Jeff Bridges brings all of his young charisma to bear as the more talented and passionate Jack, feeling incredibly cool even when he’s hungover or playing lifeless piano ballads to uninterested audiences at a tiki bar. It might not crack his top ten performances ever, but it’s still a solid showing from him as he serves as the films primary focal point. Michelle Pfeiffer truly blows the whole film out of the water with her performance as Susie Diamond. Even though this is a role where she could easily have just let her good looks do all the work for her, she leans hard into the character, her complex life story and her desire for true love along with real recognition. Her performance truly peaks in the famous red dress scene where she sings “Makin’ Whoopee” on top of a piano on New Years Eve, flirting aggressively with Jack and controlling an entire room of onlookers with only her voice and movements, while also inspiring a slew of poorly executed copycats and imitations in the years since. It’s a blend of raw charisma, sexuality, and commitment to a character that is rarely seen in film that enables her to make such a potentially humorous scene feel genuine.
Pfeiffer and the Bridges brothers bring plenty of talent to the table in The Fabulous Baker Boys, and the film’s iconic piano-top scene and excellent score help elevate it to a place where it feels believably deserving of a place among the greats. The film’s unremarkable narrative and so-so romance leave the audience wanting a bit more, but Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Bridges rarely leave you totally disappointed, so it’s worth seeing once (or looking up the scene on YouTube). This film is currently available to stream with a Starz subscription if you’re looking for where to watch it.
