MovieChat Forums > The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) Discussion > some people miss the whole point

some people miss the whole point

posted 13 years ago by LTUM
12 replies | jump to latest

this isn't a typical happy ending movie. it's pensive, deep. it's about how life throws you curve balls and forces you to make lemonade from them. for anyone who didn't realize it on their own, jack is the main character in this story. susie and frank are supports. the story is about jack and his lost dreams, how he could've done way more, and better work, but that he held back to play with his brother to help him out. but then we find him at age 38 wondering what coulda been, and if he made the right decisions. i agree that much of the story was very subtle, and centered around what was going on in jack's head. maybe that is hard to follow for some people. (or maybe they watched the movie with the laptop in their lap and missed a lot of the nuances)

the movie is about failed opportunity, second chances, heartbreak, how the world can change and leave you behind, inner conflict (jack wanted to leave his brother but didn't want to hurt him).

another poster pointed out that it is also about how time can pass us by. the bakers' style was old and outdated and they were in danger of extinction. so they felt pressure to modify, update. anybody who has lived long enough to be passed over, downsized, or squander a great opportunity should identify with this film. it's about longing for something missing, something inthe past. it's about being stuck in a rut, and lonely, and not sitting well with it.

as for the rest of the movie, i think the casting was perfect. i mean, the bridges brothers. comeon! they were at the perfect age at the perfect time, then played the roles just right. there is no way it coulda been cast better than it was. pfeiffer was completely in her prime then, coming off tequila sunrise (another dave grusin film) and her glamour was at its peak.

then you factor in seattle, the great cityscapes/cinematography, the 'feel' that city had at that time (late 80s when grunge was being born there) which fit the theme of changing times.

and last but CERTAINLY not least, the dave grusin music was off the hook. it was perfectly arranged and fit the theme and the characters and the city and the whole thing.

don't know about yawl but i love this film. i saw it when it was out in 1989, and i still like it.

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behold, sublime genius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0

[–] Mr Blue-4 13 years ago

Agree with what you said. I haven't read what other posters here have said, but it's always been clear to me that this film has so much to say about the fringes of "show business", where the success is very limited but all the strains remain.

It's easy to see the slowdown hitting the Brothers at the opening of the film rolling off Jack's back. It's how it hits Frank, who is the diligent professional, that gives the film its punch. Frank wants nothing more to make a career out of playing the Sheratons and Hiltons in Seattle. The fact that it serves merely as undistingshed background noise for most of the patrons doesn't occur to him. It CAN'T occur to him. Jack exists in this world but he is not of it. From the one shot of him playing at the jazz club, he's really happiest playing for himself. If anyone else likes it, so much the better.

I saw this when it came out in 1989 as well and loved it ever since.

[–] nutsberryfarm 11 years ago

'all the strains remain'....cool name for a song.

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

[–] anthropo 11 years ago

Great post! ITA with all you said!

[–] LTUM 11 years ago

thanks. i love this film

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"You are literally too stupid to insult."

"Thank you."

[–] Husskade 10 years ago

One of my all time favourites...always watch it if it's on and have a copy ( of course)
Also,one of those low key films that is still so powerful the images stay in your head..
Love it...

Mal,they are starting to damage my calm!

[–] LTUM 10 years ago

does the disc have extras?

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"You are literally too stupid to insult."

"Thank you."

[–] Husskade 10 years ago

Sorry to say that no it doesn't but it's one of those weird freebie giveaway ones that the newspapers were doing at one point...but none the less it is the film.

Mal,they are starting to damage my calm!

[–] kenny-164 10 years ago

Great OP and great film. I love both Michelle Pfeiffer and Beau Bridges in this film, and Jeff Bridges is fantastic. I would give it a ten but I did feel the director confused murkiness with a purposeful ambiguity in addressing the interiority of Jack's character. Neither backstory nor explication of current attitude by him adequately explained his anomic view of a potential relationship with Suzy. I did about his work and relation to his music and brother, though. But it is not a perfect film. Still, I love it.

[–] MyDarkStar 10 years ago

Great post, and I agree with it all.

This movie has never truly gotten the recognition it deserves. I don't know if I'd necessarily call it "underrated" because critics like it, but I think it definitely deserves more. For one, Jeff Bridges deserved a nomination for it. Can you believe Tom Cruise got a nomination that year, but Jeff Bridges didn't ?!?! I prefer Jeff Bridges in this movie than True Grit, which is what he won the Best Actor for. But I'm not saying he deserved to win that year ; Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing in My Left Foot.

I think it's worth re-stating that this movie was cast perfectly. Of course the Bridges have great chemistry - they're brothers. But like you said, it was at the perfect time in their personal careers as well. You couldn't have found somebody more perfect than Michelle Pfeiffer for her role. If somebody were to tell me the role was written with her in mind I would believe them. And the chemistry between her and Jeff Bridges was spot on.

However, I will say that I think this movie is getting more recognition over the years by being played on cable tv very often. That's a good way for movies which didn't get their fair share the first time around to gain more recognition.

[–] LTUM 10 years ago

great post

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Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her Daddy in the bathtub.

[–] MayoGalway 8 years ago

Hat-tip for your excellent analysis. Consider that the bros. Quaid and Chevy and Bill Murray were approached. Or that Madonna, Debra W, Brooke S turned it down. Trivia page
is always worth reading first. Jeff Bridges favorite scene was fighting his brother.

[–] Tree_Woman 8 years ago

I read this review, just by chance, before I came to the message boards:

Finest, most important film ever made on the subject of Music
10/10
Author: P.M. Reilich from Los Angeles
16 June 2000

It is worth going to the main page and reading in its entirety, and very well illustrates the subject of this post.

That, with the rest of the posts on this thread, capture the essence of the film. It is one of my favorite films.

I was a commercial illustrator for many years, making 'art' that the public would purchase on back-to-school notebooks, etc.; supporting myself was the primary objective. What could have been has long been out of my reach, technology has changed the business and I'm too old for that 'second chance'.

Really a wonderful film.

"You're so analytical! Sometimes you just have to let art... flow... over you." The Big Chill