pacing, editing and script

me , too gonna watch it again .

went on my list of one of the best movies I have seen this year.

I could watch FBB hundreds of times, and never get tired of it. Like all great flicks, it has the right combo of crisp dialogue, good storytelling, strongly developed characters, and one of my requirements...superb music. It is film noir without the violence and plot twists (ok, that's what noir mostly is!). The dialogue, particularly between Suzie and Jack, is straight out of a Bogey and Becall classic.

No matter what other film Kloves ever does, "The Fabulous Baker Boys" will be his masterpiece. I like to think of this as the last good American "noir" film that takes itself seriously. A lot of my friends shout "Sin City" when I mention film noir, but really, that movie is comic book noir and is for kids. You have to be an adult to appreciate the pathos of this movie. Watching this movie is like watching a fire build slowly up to its brightest point and then slowly down again to embers. This is no popcorn movie, this movie is like a good book, you have to sit down and just watch it with no interruption.

I can't understand the rating in imdb.

I agree, this is, as you put it, "a brilliant piece of film-making". I love the moodiness and sensuality of the scenes. The actors are amazing in the delivery of their dialogues. It is a favorite of mine and the soundtrack by jazz great Dave Grusin adds immensely to the overall feel of this movie. The pace is slow and languid, and I think Michele Pfeiffer is at her best as the band's singer (even all the songs she sings match the moody, sensual pace of the whole movie!) It's a true to life story, in that there are so many people out there "chasing something, some dream" or people "afraid to chase their true dreams" - like Jack and just about people trying to live the best they can within their own limitations. I love that the movie's ending left things open to the imagination, do they really see each other again? I like to think - yes!

I think the pace was appropriate to the world the characters lived, one in which Michelle's sultry performance not only enhanced its mood but allowed it to be reveled. This movie could easily have been a standout during an era in Hollywood where sultriness was far more common. Michelle may be modest about her own talent, but were she among those in that bygone era she would rank favorably with the best merely on the basis of this one performance. However, the strength of her performance did have one drawback in my mind: we often forget the main point of this movie, which is not that it is a love story, where she ends up with (in this case) the bad boy, who nevertheless has a good heart, but as has been pointed out by others, a more realistic story about life's regrets and how they can affect your life. As such, it is intended to be about the life of "fabulous" Baker boys, and not so much about Susie. Despite this, and because of the overall languor infusing the film, we are reminded thoughtfully that even when good things fall to us from heaven, it may reveal a side of us we wouldn't want to know we had, causing us further to regret the life we've led. Do things work out for them in the end? We'd like to think so, and so would they, I'm sure.

James

avent seen the movie and dont plan to. but i completely agree w everything u wrote

Always liked this film but it was years since I last watched it - on tape. Finally got around to watching the DVD that's been sitting in the stack in the corner and very happy to observe it's even better than I remember. I only have one complaint which is why hasn't Steve Kloves made more films.