The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.

Director:

Steve Kloves

Writer:

Steve Kloves

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Jack Baker
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Susie Diamond
Beau Bridges	...	Frank Baker
Ellie Raab	...	Nina
Xander Berkeley	...	Lloyd
Dakin Matthews	...	Charlie
Ken Lerner	...	Ray
Albert Hall	...	Henry
Terri Treas	...	Girl in Bed
Gregory Itzin	...	Vince Nancy
Bradford English	...	Earl
David Coburn	...	Kid at Vet
Todd Jeffries	...	Theo
Jeff Nowinski	...	Hotel Masseuse (as Jeffrey J. Nowinski)
Nancy Fish	...	Laughing Bar Patron

Storyline

The Fabulous Baker Boys, a Seattle-based duo piano lounge act performing cheesy jazz renditions of pop standards, is comprised of thirty-something brothers Frank and Jack Baker. Older Frank, married with two children, is the controlling business manager, front man and sole programmer of the playlist. Younger Jack is the carefree one without commitments to anything or anyone, including women, he who has had a long string of one night stands, most specifically with cocktail waitresses. Jack's strongest commitments are to his aging dog, Eddie, and to Nina, the lonely adolescent who lives in the apartment above his with her single, constantly dating mother. Jack's commitment to Nina is because of her unwavering commitment to him. The Baker Boys' act is becoming stale and outdated, and as such their ability to hold onto what gigs they are able to get is getting more difficult. So Frank comes up with the idea of hiring a singer to beef up the act. After thirty-seven failed auditions, they ...

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Plot Keywords:

piano | piano player | audition | singing | hotel | 

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Taglines:

For 31 years it's been just the Fabulous Baker Boys... but times change.

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die fabelhaften Baker Boys

Filming Locations:

172 S Washington St, Seattle, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$18,100,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gladden Entertainment,Mirage,Tobis

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actresses who were offered the lead female role of Susie Diamond or were considered included: Madonna, Debra Winger, Brooke Shields, Jodie Foster, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The part in the end was cast with Michelle Pfeiffer.

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Goofs

When Frank, Jack and Susie get underway for the trip to the New Year's event at the resort hotel (a.k.a. Bill Gate's house), they are first shown driving southbound on the Mercer Street onramp to Interstate-5. Then the scene shifts to them driving near the Spokane Street exit southbound, five miles to the south. Then the scene shifts back to them driving emerging from a tunnel, which is actually the same southbound I-5 onramp, only a little farther past the initial shot.

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Quotes

Jack Baker: Frank, if somebody requested "Chopsticks," you'd ask for the sheet music.

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Connections

Referenced in Empire of the Censors (1995)

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Soundtracks

Sweet Georgia Brown
Whistler - Rick Riccio
Written by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard & Kenneth Casey

User Reviews

It's not getting any better than this

TFBB is such a terrific movie, you feel like a child in a toy store wanting to tell it all. Everything in this story falls into place, the pace is great, the acting is brilliant and yet it's in the details that one discovers the masterpiece. There's the audition scene, the little story about the sick dog and the girl from next door to show you Jeff Bridges does care, the introductions by Beau as they perform in their special place, The Starfire Lounge and then repeats the same line in another cocktail bar, the bathroom scenes in the hotel they do their Festive season gig (quite different what you might have expected from a bathroom scene between Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Bridges !), the dog leaving the elevator in the hotel on his own to join his boss who is playing alone, his kind of music. This movie gets better with repeated viewings, so buy it instead of renting it.It's a mystery to me why Steve Kloves did not make more films and instead waited to become a scriptwriter for the Harry Potter films more than 10 years later.