The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

FABULOUS.......and also incredible
Incredible that Michelle Pfeiffer did not win the Academy Award as Best Actress. She won it at every other major awards ceremony that year but lost the Oscar. An outrage. She was terrific.
This film runs on "flawless" throughout.
Combining humor with the optimism and pessisism of "life on the road" and the reality thereof.
The Soundtrack is captivating but don't go out and buy it since the "good stuff just ain't there".
An all around great cast with Jeff and Beau providing the counterpoint and Michelle giving us the steam..
Do not miss this. It may be 18 years old but it is a lasting gem.
A simply hilarious cameo by Jennifer Tilly is not to be missed.

The fabulous baker boys
The story is drab and hard to believe, but Michelle Pfeiffer's performance while hard to believe is incredible, and Jeff Bridges is his usual self, meaning great, am really happy with my purchase

Inspired cast! Terrific show!
I didn't bother to see this when it came out. All I heard about it was that Michelle Pfeiffer sang on a piano and that wasn't enough to draw me into the theater. But...wow! This is a much under-rated film. Three really good actors who never have received the acclaim they deserve: the Bridges and Pfeiffer---together here, with an intelligent script and careful direction, and the magic happens.

Michelle Pfeiffer is so beautiful that I think people don't realize what a good actress she is. She is very funny and real as the ex-escort girl who dresses like she's going to a Halloween party till they fix her up. It's a role that could have easily descended into a cliche--the tough, gum-chewing, lower class chick---but Pfeiffer plays her as a real person and she emerges as a strong, smart woman whose character shocks everyone else into action. She keeps her sort of klutzy vulnerability too, even after their "success" which makes her very appealing. Yes, she is unforgettable on top of that Steinway and she truly deserves a spot in the Hollywood Hall of Fame for that but there is a lot more to her performance than that.

Jeff Bridges is equally as charming and heart-throbbing (something for the ladies) and they make worthy adversaries/lovers. The tension that builds up between them is maddening--The scenes in the hotel where they almost get together but don't quite--are so life-like that anyone who has lived through such ordeals will have to laugh. You want to scream at the screen "Get together, already!" No wonder they both smoke so much.

Beau, the not-quite-as hunky brother is perfect in his role, too. He plays Frank, the responsible one, who books the act, makes sure everyone's on time and sprays black paint to cover the bald spot on the back of his head. Jack (Jeff) is the cool one, the naturally brilliant musician, who despises their gigs in chain hotel lounges, but doesn't have the courage to break out on his own. Just as their long-term career is careening towards the pit, Susie Diamond (Pfeiffer) enters the picture and the dynamics shift. She is a force to be reckoned with and something has got to give.

As familiar as I was with the actors, I fogot who they were almost immediately. I suspect that the fact that these two talented Bridges brothers played the Baker brothers has a lot to do with the success of the film. I have to wonder how much of their actual personalities informed the performances.

The whole thing flows seamlessly. We get the points but we're not hit over the head with them. The ending is just-right, too! Overall, a terrific film.