Rating: 
Summary: You're one of those fabulous fella's !!
Review: 31 years of playing piano together has taught Frank and Jack Baker a few things. But, there are some things that they could only learn from their new singer, Susie Diamond. Jeff and Beau Bridges are exceptionally cast as the brothers and Michelle Pfeiffer makes the screen sizzle. Add a terrific musical score by jazz great, Dave Grusin and you've got a terrific movie for the grown-ups in the house. This truly is Jack's story... a moody musician with an aversion to commitment anywhere in his life. And he runs behind a tough-guy skin when he finds himself falling for Susie. We are left with an ambiguous ending as writer/director Steve Kloves weaves clever dialogue with a stark, realistic lifeline. Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Bridges really burn up the screen with a New Years rendition of MAKIN' WHOOPEE. Their sexual energy envelopes the song. Pfeiffer does an excellent job singing (the last time she sang onscreen was in the horrid GREASE 2). A brilliant character study, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS really fill the seats. The DVD has a shaky video transfer, but the audio sounds pretty good.
Rating: 
Summary: Makin' Whoopee
Review: 31 years of playing piano together has taught Frank and Jack Baker a few things. But, there are some things that they could only learn from their new singer, Susie Diamond. Jeff and Beau Bridges are exceptionally cast as the brothers and Michelle Pfeiffer makes the screen sizzle. Add a terrific musical score by jazz great, Dave Grusin and you've got a terrific movie for the grown-ups in the house. This truly is Jack's story... a moody musician with an aversion to commitment anywhere in his life. And he runs behind a tough-guy skin when he finds himself falling for Susie. We are left with an ambiguous ending as writer/director Steve Kloves weaves clever dialogue with a stark, realistic lifeline. Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Bridges really burn up the screen with a New Years rendition of MAKIN' WHOOPEE. Their sexual energy envelopes the song. Pfeiffer does an excellent job singing (the last time she sang onscreen was in the horrid GREASE 2). A brilliant character study, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS really fill the seats. The DVD has a shaky video transfer, but the audio sounds pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: That's What You Get, Folks, for Makin' Whoopee
Review: 4 1/2 stars As the piano-playing "Baker Boys" of the title, Beau and Jeff Bridges play like they're brothers -- which they are. The Baker Boys, who have seemingly forever been playing muzak-style piano, accompanying each other, and making the smallest of small talk in a two piano-act, are out of gas. So, they decide to hire a "girl singer," to win back Seattle audiences ... and bookings. The sequence in which the brothers audition would-be singers is the funniest of its kind ever filmed. But while this movie has some wonderful laughs, it is not, ultimately, a comedy. Screenwriter-director Steve Kloves' debut is dominated by an actress named Michelle Pfeiffer, and by a sultry, smoky, saloon singer named ... Micheller Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer does all her own singing, and she's joy! (Warning: Although the wonderful soundtrack mixes Dave Grusin's cool jazz score with works from the Great American Songbook, don't buy the cd, as much of the best music is left off of it.) Like Sinatra singing a Harold Arlen torch song, this one doesn't miss a beat.
Rating:
Summary: That's What You Get, Folks, for Makin' Whoopee
Review: 4 1/2 stars As the piano-playing "Baker Boys" of the title, Beau and Jeff Bridges play like they're brothers -- which they are. The Baker Boys, who have seemingly forever been playing muzak-style piano, accompanying each other, and making the smallest of small talk in a two piano-act, are out of gas. So, they decide to hire a "girl singer," to win back Seattle audiences ... and bookings. The sequence in which the brothers audition would-be singers is the funniest of its kind ever filmed. But while this movie has some wonderful laughs, it is not, ultimately, a comedy. Screenwriter-director Steve Kloves' debut is dominated by an actress named Michelle Pfeiffer, and by a sultry, smoky, saloon singer named ... Micheller Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer does all her own singing, and she's joy! (Warning: Although the wonderful soundtrack mixes Dave Grusin's cool jazz score with works from the Great American Songbook, don't buy the cd, as much of the best music is left off of it.) Like Sinatra singing a Harold Arlen torch song, this one doesn't miss a beat.
Rating:
Summary: A simple yet wonderful love story!!!
Review: A terrific cast and a simple sweet story are some of the highlights of this unique, rarely talked about gem from the late-80's. It has every reason to be as seen as Pretty Woman--which came later, and seems to have ripped off not only the look of this film, but the poster of another lost classic, Rich Girl. The Bridges brothers are fantastic in an extremely inspired casting gimmick, but the real reason to see this film is Michelle Pfeiffer in a Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated role. She is superb as a sexy siren who tears apart two brothers, one a sex addict and the other a happily married man. Yes, you've heard it before but I will say it again, her rendition of "Making Whopee" has to be one of the most memorable scenes in all of film. The main themes of sibling rivalry and unfulfilled talent are generally engrossing, and help to paper over the thinness of the story. Jeff Bridges is very believable as a man working in the lower ranks of his trade when he could've reached the top. Beau is also in fine form as a performer who does what he does simply because he has a family to support. It's a hard film to describe, because it's not really about very much, but if you can adjust to the relaxed pace and just enjoy the leisurely development of the three main characters then you will come away from the film feeling thoroughly satisfied. Meg Tilly is also worth mentioning. She is fantastic in a small role that I wish was more fully developed. She is a truly wonderful and underrated actress and I was pleasantly surprised to see her. She has one of the other more memorable scenes in the film, auditioning for the brothers near the beginning of the film. See it for the Bridges, see it for Pfeiffer, see it for Tilly or see it for the music. Just see it!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies about music I've seen in a long time.
Review: Beau & Jeff Bridges play Frank & Jack Baker, respectively. The Baker brothers have been playing piano duets together in night clubs for fifteen years, and every audience has pretty much come to know what kind of quality performance to expect from them. One day the owner of the Bakers' favorite night club suggests to them that their act is getting rather tired; they'll need something fresh, bold, and exciting to spice it up if they want to stay on top. So Frank & Jack decide to hire a singer. After critiquing auditions from about forty-odd different women, none of whom can sing, Frank & Jack decide on Suzie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), who arrives late for the audition but successfully convinces them she's their singer. Of course, no movie is without its dramatic conflict. Tensions rear their ugly head when Jack and Suzie begin having and affair, which threatens the stability of the trio. Want to know how everything turns out? In that case, you'll have to buy this movie. But I can tell you that if you love jazz, the soundtrack will delight you immensely.
Rating:
Summary: You're one of those fabulous fella's !!
Review: Excellent, hard to find movie, only one problem, the DVD does not have "English Subtitles" (for the deaf/hard of hearing) as indicated on the discographic information related to this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Michelle Pfeiffer sings
Review: Finally. A movie that actually has "class," which is a rarity in the 80's and 90's. Michelle Pfeiffer is in her prime as a torchlight singer in a beautiful red dress on top of a black Steinway piano. This alone should sell the movie if you're a guy who plays the piano (such as myself). But if that alone doesn't turn you on, there is also the interesting dynamics going on between the two brothers struggling to maintain their dignity while at the same time trying to make ends meet as jazz pianists who together comprise the "Fabulous Baker Boys." They find Michelle Pfeiffer, and one of them falls in love with her. Finally, this movie is a metaphor for mid-life crisis as the trio each in their own way confront the very real possibility that the best might be behind them, that their aspirations and achievements have flattened out and that they're over the hill. However, they do get their moment in the sun in this movie, and the ending for this movie is wonderfully ambiguous.
Rating:
Summary: Michelle Pfeiffer sings
Review: Finally. A movie that actually has "class," which is a rarity in the 80's and 90's. Michelle Pfeiffer is in her prime as a torchlight singer in a beautiful red dress on top of a black Steinway piano. This alone should sell the movie if you're a guy who plays the piano (such as myself). But if that alone doesn't turn you on, there is also the interesting dynamics going on between the two brothers struggling to maintain their dignity while at the same time trying to make ends meet as jazz pianists who together comprise the "Fabulous Baker Boys." They find Michelle Pfeiffer, and one of them falls in love with her. Finally, this movie is a metaphor for mid-life crisis as the trio each in their own way confront the very real possibility that the best might be behind them, that their aspirations and achievements have flattened out and that they're over the hill. However, they do get their moment in the sun in this movie, and the ending for this movie is wonderfully ambiguous.
Rating:
Summary: Michelle Pfeiffer sings
Review: Finally. A movie that actually has "class," which is a rarity in the 80's and 90's. Michelle Pfeiffer is in her prime as a torchlight singer in a beautiful red dress on top of a black Steinway piano. This alone should sell the movie if you're a guy who plays the piano (such as myself). But if that alone doesn't turn you on, there is also the interesting dynamics going on between the two brothers struggling to maintain their dignity while at the same time trying to make ends meet as jazz pianists who together comprise the "Fabulous Baker Boys." They find Michelle Pfeiffer, and one of them falls in love with her. Finally, this movie is a metaphor for mid-life crisis as the trio each in their own way confront the very real possibility that the best might be behind them, that their aspirations and achievements have flattened out and that they're over the hill. However, they do get their moment in the sun in this movie, and the ending for this movie is wonderfully ambiguous.
| 
