Really great movie, so captivating.
Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges star as Jack Baker and Frank Baker, collectively known as "The Baker Boys", a dueling piano act that has been playing show tunes together for the past 15 years. Jack and Frank notice though that gigs recently have been drying up and decide they need to hire a singer to draw more attention to them, and after auditioning come across Susie Diamond (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and hire her. Susie comes across as more of an outsider/loner, likely having experienced past problems that have made her build up a defense system to protect herself and not be very vulnerable with others.
As they play, the group becomes more and more popular, with praise especially for Susie. Jack begins to fall for Susie, which complicates the dynamics of the group. Later on, Susie asks to leave the group after receiving an offer to do singing for cat commercials, which Jack encourages her to take, putting strain on their relationship as he basically acts like he is done with her. After Jack and Frank fight over which gigs to take, it leads to an altercation between the two with Jack nearly breaking Frank's hand and quitting the group.
In the end, Jack makes amends with Frank and Susie. Frank decides to teach piano lessons while Jack decides to take on a solo career, and him and Susie agree to being friends and there is a kind of ambiguity where Jack says he will be seeing her again.
I really like the characterization here. Michelle Pfeiffer just does an incredible job- she nails the physicality, the sultriness of both her character and the jazz-type music being played, and has a really great voice. The "Makin' Whoopee" scene is iconic for good reason, she is just so alluring and you want to get to see as much of her as possible. Even outside the singing scenes, she comes across as very likable, she's kind of sassy/a little bit of a sharp tongue but is fun. Jeff Bridges is also great, there's a kind of nonchalant quality about his character that makes him seem very cool/badass, and then throughout the movie his vulnerabilities unfold. Beau Bridges is also a nice balance as he is playing a father who therefore has more responsibilities and is more caring, kind of counteracting Jack and Susie.
I thought the camera work was solid, the score was great (although sometimes it felt like it was being overplayed/unnecessarily used). I think there could have been more in terms of the plot and the emotional power of the film but it was still compelling to watch.
Really great movie, so captivating.
Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges star as Jack Baker and Frank Baker, collectively known as "The Baker Boys", a dueling piano act that has been playing show tunes together for the past 15 years. Jack and Frank notice though that gigs recently have been drying up and decide they need to hire a singer to draw more attention to them, and after auditioning come across Susie Diamond (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) and hire her. Susie comes across as more of an outsider/loner, likely having experienced past problems that have made her build up a defense system to protect herself and not be very vulnerable with others.
As they play, the group becomes more and more popular, with praise especially for Susie. Jack begins to fall for Susie, which complicates the dynamics of the group. Later on, Susie asks to leave the group after receiving an offer to do singing for cat commercials, which Jack encourages her to take, putting strain on their relationship as he basically acts like he is done with her. After Jack and Frank fight over which gigs to take, it leads to an altercation between the two with Jack nearly breaking Frank's hand and quitting the group.
In the end, Jack makes amends with Frank and Susie. Frank decides to teach piano lessons while Jack decides to take on a solo career, and him and Susie agree to being friends and there is a kind of ambiguity where Jack says he will be seeing her again.
I really like the characterization here. Michelle Pfeiffer just does an incredible job- she nails the physicality, the sultriness of both her character and the jazz-type music being played, and has a really great voice. The "Makin' Whoopee" scene is iconic for good reason, she is just so alluring and you want to get to see as much of her as possible. Even outside the singing scenes, she comes across as very likable, she's kind of sassy/a little bit of a sharp tongue but is fun. Jeff Bridges is also great, there's a kind of nonchalant quality about his character that makes him seem very cool/badass, and then throughout the movie his vulnerabilities unfold. Beau Bridges is also a nice balance as he is playing a father who therefore has more responsibilities and is more caring, kind of counteracting Jack and Susie.
I thought the camera work was solid, the score was great (although sometimes it felt like it was being overplayed/unnecessarily used). I think there could have been more in terms of the plot and the emotional power of the film but it was still compelling to watch.
