Get out the hankies: weepies from the Eighties - The Fabulous Baker

The Fabulous Baker (1989)

Director: Steve Kloves

Writers: Steve Kloves

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Bridges, Beau Bridges

Runtime: 114 minutes

Certification: 15

Rating: 4/5

When someone like Michelle Pfeiffer walks into your life, you know your life is about to change big time. The Baker brothers are about to find out how she can alter everything. The Fabulous Baker Boys is a film that starts out with unfulfilled dreams, grim, depressing lifestyles to which Pfeiffer’s character provides a shiny ray of hope. She is more than a mere eye-candy, capturing the musical stage with her appealing voice and sex appeal. There have been a few musical performers in the history of cinema who managed to completely entice the audience: Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, Rita Hayworth in Gilda and even Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Pfeiffer is easily one of them. How did she become such a global sensation? Watch The Fabulous Baker Boys and find out.

Business isn’t so great for the Baker brothers (real life brothers Beau and Jeff Bridges). Their little piano duet gigs aren’t pleasing the crowd and bar owners aren’t happy with their performances. They need a new look, a new method of connecting to the audience that grows tougher every day. They decide to hold a singing audition. Of course, when they promise a lousy pay, the talent that comes along cannot be anything groundbreaking. We see a montage of horrendously bad singers, the perfect prelude for what is to come - it’s like watching some of the awful audition tapes of The X Factor. It all seems hopeless, until Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer) walks in, an hour and a half late. Naturally, they would have rejected such tardiness. But beggars can’t be choosers. They haven’t found a single singer who might just be appropriate, and so they decide to give her a try. She starts singing, and with her husky and jazzy voice, the brothers are completely taken by her. She’s in. And with their new addition, the business soars. She has some odd personality quirks that don’t sit too easily with the more uptight, conservative older brother Frank (Beau Bridges), whilst as the film progresses, something romantic sparks up between her and the more talented, younger, better looking brother Jack (Jeff Bridges).

It may sound blunt, but it is a known fact that Jeff is the more talented sibling. This is also mirrored in the film. Frank is more organised, he arranges the concerts and meets the various employers. Jack just has to turn up for their performances. Jack is more handsome, suave, is not growing bald-patches like Frank, and leads a more care-free lifestyle of booze and women whilst Frank is married with kids to support. In a single genius move, the writers decide to toss the idea of creating a tacky love triangle involving Jack, Susie and Frank. Frank has settled down and loves his family to bits. The romance that develops is strictly down to Jack and Susie. There is brotherly feud and jealousy, but none of it is fuelled by whatever romantic interests the brothers have; because Frank is not interested in Susie that way. He is concerned about their business, never about his love life. Frank’s family is also never shown, another smart move that avoids unnecessary melodrama. A number of sub-plots could have been created, but Frank’s family is wisely given no mention, showing no diversion from the trio we are supposed to focus on.

Pfeiffer is perfect for the role of Susie. Whatever she wears she maintains the cool, breezy and most importantly, spellbinding look that captures the glamour, the smoky illusion of warm perfection that despite what goes on backstage, whenever the character Susie holds the microphone and steps on that stage, the entire world is hers, and the crowd cannot help but stare at her sultry, diva presence. The most iconic scene in the film, Pfeiffer performing ‘Makin’ Whoopee’ in her stunning red dress, climbing down a piano, does not fail to impress, with Pfeiffer’s magnificent singing voice perfectly gracing over the challenging song. Pfeiffer did all of her own singing for the film, and they are all truly remarkable. When she sings, she moves with elegance, off the stage, she can turn into a cranky but confident, harsh-mouthed woman whose piercing words provide some offbeat humour.

She may have the showier, more award-baiting role but the Bridges brothers convincingly show the underlying sibling rivalry that is intensifying every minute. You know there will be a meltdown at some point - they’re brothers, they’re bound to fight it out in one way or the other. They both make compromises; because that’s what you do for the one you love. Sibling love has never been more beautiful - it’s never cheesy. A lot of their actions don’t require words and to be perfectly frank, there isn’t a lot of original material that ever seems fresh. But it handles the familiar elements incredibly well. There is deep dependence between the two brothers and what one lacks, the other makes up for. They function well together and the simmering conflict is well controlled by the two talented actors. There are genuinely touching moments that show what went wrong with the two very different brothers and whilst never over the top, the dialogue is heartfelt, and without the glamour of the musical stage, when they’re back in the real world, their troubles are always addressed. There are many moving scenes and all of them rightly involve the Baker boys.

The warm cinematography that beautifully captures the many musical stages provides stark contrast with the harsh, gray, much colder one of the outside world. The skillful lighting and the slick, hypnotic camerawork perfectly surround Pfeiffer’s beauty on stage, setting up a cozy, tender atmosphere for the scenes with songs. But The Fabulous Baker Boys is not a feel-good, song-and-dance musical because despite the cool, jazzy tempo of Susie’s songs, it carefully looks at the team’s hardships head-on, without trying to sugarcoat or ignore the issues that arise.

It’s not as heavy-handed as many musical biopics, and there is plenty of 80s luxurious vibe to keep us under Pfeiffer’s magnificent spell throughout. The Fabulous Baker Boys is a more than fabulous treat for the eyes and the ears, packed full of astonishing performances from its leads, soothing, comforting songs, and a warm ambiance that is as relaxing as being in a classy jazz bar whilst sipping an over-priced drink.