by Frank Calvillo
I’ve never bought into the notion that great cinema belongs to any one period of time. For me, truly great cinema knows no eras or decades. It exists in its own world and never loses its the magic or power.
There are few examples of this as good as writer/director Steve Kloves’ much beloved classic The Fabulous Baker Boys, which has recently been given a proper and impressive Blu-ray transfer, courtesy of Twilight Time.
Jack (Jeff Bridges) and Frank (Beau Bridges) Baker are a pair of brothers who have worked as musical duo for over 30 years, showcasing their piano playing talents all over Seattle’s various clubs and hotel lounges, with limited success. Sensing their act needs some serious re-working, the two decide to take on a singer in order to give new life to their tired musical stylings. After a series of failed auditions, the two encounter the mysterious and intriguing Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former call girl turned aspiring singer with a sultry voice and a steadfast toughness who rejuvenates the brothers’ act and changes the dynamics between them forever.
Some have complained that The Fabulous Baker Boys’ lack of a straightforward plot makes the film somewhat alienating. Yet with three such interesting characters like the ones presented here, the only thing a plot would do is get in the way. Each of the characters are so well-written and complex in their individual ways, that all you want to do is watch as they interact with each other and hear them recite tales of their storied pasts. Jack, Susie, and Frank have all been through the ringer of life in one way or another and have the scars to prove it. Yet they each retain a mixture of despair and hope throughout in their own quiet ways. Jack and Frank are a cynic and and optimist, respectively. When they meet realist Susie, the way they react to each other is fascinating. The screen is nothing but electrifying whenever the three of them are in the same frame together, and the way so much is told about human behavior through their looks and gestures is worth more at times than the most twist-filled plot.
The Fabulous Baker Boys remains the film it is in large part because of the pitch perfect work of its cast. The Bridges brothers wonderfully play with their real-life relationship as siblings who have lived their lives full of resentment and admiration towards one another. When Frank and Jack have their therapeutic brawl late in the film, one marvels at these two characters and all the baggage they have both finally have allowed themselves to shed.
It’s Pfeiffer’s Susie, though, who remains the standout and the film’s most indispensable character. Pfeiffer instantly recognizes how life has wounded Susie and gives her an armor which makes it anything but easy to get beyond, yet makes a person want to more and more. Though she had been steadily progressing upwards as an actress, Pfeiffer had never been as open or vulnerable on screen until starring in The Fabulous Baker Boys. Here, she is luminous and poetic in every frame she is in.
As much of a character study as The Fabulous Baker Boys is, it’s easy to forget that the film is actually a comedy. The character of Frank is written as a chronic micro-managing neurotic, and his frustration at keeping the always laid-back Jack in line is fun to watch.
Kloves has also loaded his brilliant script with some slick one-liners. Exhausted after auditioning many of the city’s worst singers, Jack comments, “Well, it had a certain surreal quality to it.” Likewise when Susie is unhappy about being listed on the poster with the Bakers as “guest vocalist,” she asks: “Who do you all have lined up next week, Beverly Sills?”
Above all, there’s an undeniable timelessness to The Fabulous Baker Boys which is not easy to find in other films before or after. The Seattle locale could be any cold metropolis, and with the exception of cars, hairstyles, and fashion, there’s really no telling when the movie actually takes place. This may perhaps be Kloves’ smartest move. When the film’s most iconic moment takes place, which sees Pfeiffer atop a piano crooning Makin’ Whoopee in a slinky red dress, no one cares what year it is. All they care about is her and that moment, frozen in time.
The Package
There’s over 20 minutes of deleted scenes included, and while some are pure throwaway, others, such as when the Bakers decide to hire Susie, make you weep at their absence from the finished product.
Kloves joins film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman for an interesting recollection of stories regarding the film including how he motivated the brothers Bridges before their fight scene, Sidney Pollack’s role as producer and mentor and how he chose Pfeiffer not for her singing abilities, but rather because of how she interpreted the lyrics through her acting. Other interesting facts revealed include the reason the director hasn’t helmed a film in years despite numerous offers (Pfeiffer apparently wanted to re-team with him for Thelma and Louise at one point) and Kloves’ hesitance to reveal Jack and Susie’s fates still to this day.
Director of Photography Michael Balhaus also contributes a commentary track showing his lack of experience in doing so. “If you are all movie freaks, and it looks like you are,” he states at one point during his commentary, which better serves aspiring DP’s in film school rather than any of the film’s fans.
The Lowdown
An absolutely stunning transfer for one of film’s most quietly sweeping and compelling character pieces. With this release, The Fabulous Baker Boys remains as unforgettable as the image of Pfeiffer on that piano.
