The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  An alluring singer joins piano-playing brothers around the nightclub circuit. The highlights of this film are the performances by the Bridges brothers and Michelle Pfeiffer, who is sultry and has a fantastic singing voice. First-class direction by Steve Kloves also captures some… More
  An alluring singer joins piano-playing brothers around the nightclub circuit. The highlights of this film are the performances by the Bridges brothers and Michelle Pfeiffer, who is sultry and has a fantastic singing voice. First-class direction by Steve Kloves also captures some beautiful images, especially Pfeiffer's character, Suzie Diamond, walking down smoky, back-lit stairs and the numerous nightclubs in which the threesome play. The film's story could have come earlier. The first forty-five minutes -- maybe even hour -- is essentially exposition. The brothers play gigs and discover Suzie, and they play more gigs and travel places. We get that Jeff Bridges's character, Jack, is unhappy, but there is no indication where his happiness comes from until the second act comes too late. Then, the film becomes about a man denying himself his own happiness, the excuses he tells himself to rationalize his fear of success or satisfaction. The film finds its center in Jack; from there, it's a strong character study, and Jeff Bridges give a quiet, subtle, and captivating performance. The exposition itself isn't hard on the eyes. As I mentioned earlier, Pfeiffer's singing voice and the film's musical numbers are great, especially for those who like classic jazz. Overall, the film has a mild structural problem, but the strengths of the film make it well worth the time.

• xGary X

  
  Dreary and unconvincing soap opera featuring Michelle Pfeiffer on a piano being "sexy". Apparently.

• Alec B

  
  Whatever minor quibbles I have with the story are completely made up by the remarkable chemistry of the three leads. The film is as smooth, slow, and understated as the lounge songs performed in the movie.

• Duncan R

  
  Fabulous indeed. Steve Kloves has a winner with this one. The Bridges gave exceptional performances, as did Michelle Pheiffer, the music was smooth as whiskey, and the dialogue was sharp as a tack. And Jennifer Tilly's performance of "The Candy Man" had me in stitches!… More
  Fabulous indeed. Steve Kloves has a winner with this one. The Bridges gave exceptional performances, as did Michelle Pheiffer, the music was smooth as whiskey, and the dialogue was sharp as a tack. And Jennifer Tilly's performance of "The Candy Man" had me in stitches! Yeah, it's long and it's dialogue driven, but for me, it's hardly boring.

• Marcus W

  
  Pfeiffer brings plenty of "zing" to this, but it should really have been called "Jeff Bridges plays a miserable, moody git who chain-smokes and won't let anyone get close to him for reasons that are never made clear." Around the same level of melodrama as a… More
  Pfeiffer brings plenty of "zing" to this, but it should really have been called "Jeff Bridges plays a miserable, moody git who chain-smokes and won't let anyone get close to him for reasons that are never made clear." Around the same level of melodrama as a soap opera.

• Sunil J

  
  Pfeiffer is nice but jeez. SO boring and slow.

• Barry L

  
  Watchable

• Anthony V

  
  Michelle Pfeiffer at her most steaming hot peak.

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