The Fabulous Baker Boys

Business is slow for nightclub pianists Jeff and Beau Bridges, so they hire a girl singer, Michelle Pfeiffer. Written and directed by Steve Kloves.

This is like a romantic comedy for people who don't like romantic comedies. Or a feel good film that doesn't make you want to puke. It's Kloves' debut as a director, but it's very assured, as if he has done it all his life. Why is he now only working as a writer on the Harry Potter films? He managed to recreate some of the mood from the classic comedies of the forties. I think Cary Grant and Jean Arthur could have done a film like this.

Damn, I miss Michelle Pfeiffer! I don't think I've seen too many of her films after Batman Returns. She used to be so good in films like this one, Married To The Mob and Frankie and Johnny. And she can sing, too! Bridges has a difficult job here. He's playing a guy who is pretty much dead inside, and how do you do that without it getting monotonous? But no one can do understated like Jeff Bridges. There's one scene in the film where he becomes alive, playing the piano in a jazz bar. And of course, Pfeiffer is witness to that moment, instigating the fallout between the two brothers. I like that they avoid the obvious happy ending and go for something more bittersweet. A perfect film.