Michelle Pfeiffer
The film follows two brothers trying to make their old lounge act work. Times are tough and the two brothers have hit rock bottom on the hotel circuit in Seattle, but maybe with a singer they have a chance to redeem themselves.
Enter Susie Diamond – Michelle Pfeiffer. Stunning.
Susie's had a hard life, and she's got the attitude to match; when she sings a song like ''Ten Cents a Dance,'' she's very nearly singing from experience. Michelle Pfeiffer is as unexpected a choice for this musical bombshell as Jeff Bridges is for the self-hating, lonely Jack, but, like him, she proves to be electrifying. "Introducing Ms. Pfeiffer's furiously hard-boiled, devastatingly gorgeous Susie into the Bakers' world affects the film the way a match might affect a fuse".
THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, like its stars, has style and sultriness to spare. The warm, rich hues of Michael Ballhaus's cinematography contribute immeasurably to the film's invitingly intimate glow. And the cast members' ingenuous musical performances work surprisingly well, sometimes even spectacularly. When Ms. Pfeiffer, draped across Jeff Bridge’s piano and setting some new standard for cinematic slickness, performs in the above-mentioned New Year's Eve sequence with the camera gliding hypnotically around her, she just plain brings down the house. Watch her mid-section as she sings to Jack, Jeff Bridges. Her stomach literally waves into the bottom of the piano like a wildcat, while singing, spinning, acting, oozing. It’s remarkable – gorgeous – seamless – incredible acting. Redefining stunning.
The film doesn’t really travel that far in terms of its journey, but the characters each take a substantial step forward in their lives. It’s about finding your truer self, honoring ones own passions artistically and personally and finally opening yourself up to the possibility of love – as hard as that is for a cynic and a pro.
Michelle Pfeiffer is one of the sexiest screen actors ever and this was the film that made her a sensation. She becomes a triple – quadruple threat. Her singing isn’t perfect but she controls her voice in such a way that it fits the character and film beautifully.
Chemistry is something that is either there or it’s not. You can act it up to a point but the chemistry between Pfeiffer and Jeff Bridges is so palpable and disarming that it elevates the simple story and turns the film into magic. Even when they are putting each other off and trying not to show their feelings in front of Beau Bridges’ character – it’s there. Gangbusters there. Like a piercing laser-beam, the chemistry in this film is like that of Hollywood's golden age. Whether it’s in a look, a quick glance, or on top of a piano. I loved her as ‘Catwoman’ in BATMAN RETURNS and in DANGEROUS LIAISONS but this is was the one that made her legendary.
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