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Dual Review: The Fabulous Pfeiffer Girl


My blogging pfriend and pfellow Michelle Pfeiffer pfanatic Paul S. recently shared one of my Pfeiffer posts and added his own commentary to it, over at his pfabulous site Pfeiffer Pfilms and Meg Movies. Speaking of "pfabulous," in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of The Fabulous Baker Boys falling on October 13 this year, I'm going to do the same. Here's a dual commentary on the movie from two of the biggest Pfeiffer pfans in all the world (I'm confident this is true). I'm presenting Paul's original commentary (and his selected images), unedited.


The Fabulous Pfeiffer Girl

Paul: I’ve slept, I’ve woken and I still have Michelle on my mind. It’s not surprising, I need Pfeiffer in the way that some people need to eat, sleep and breathe. Pfeiffer the face has launched a million pfixations. The film that made me an obsessed fanatic was The Fabulous Baker Boys.
Michael: You and me, Paul, we're the same. Baker Boys played a huge role in my pfandom kicking up a few thousand notches back in the day. I'd already been smitten with Michelle thanks to The Witches of Eastwick, Scarface, and Grease 2, to name a few, but Baker Boys certainly helped seal the deal.

Paul: I can’t imagine Michelle ever topping her wonderful Susie Diamond. The performance has just about everything: attitude, charm, confidence, wit, comic timing, sultry singing and seductive moves on top of a piano.

Michael: I think it's the performance that's been most synonymous with Pfeiffer in the thirty years since the movie opened. For critics and audiences alike, it elevated her even higher into the upper echelon of actresses. The importance of its legacy is undeniable, and practically unmatched over the course of her career. I've spent most of those years waffling between choosing Susie or Frankie from Frankie and Johnny as Michelle's career-best work. For a while now I've felt confident putting Frankie alone at the top, but Susie is so close, nipping right at her heels. The two performances are flawless. She's exquisite in both roles, playing vastly different women, but also women who've been through the ringer and are still standing. Susie and Frankie are survivors.


Paul: Susie’s audition number, More Than You Know, may well be my favourite entrance of any character in any film. The way she falls into the room, a hot disheveled mess, chewing gum and cringing at the décor, after Jeff and Beau have just endured a run of 37 ear-splitting amateur divas, is priceless.

Michael: Paul, we are so in sync. Susie's stumbling, swearing, hot mess of an entrance into the film is my personal favorite in any film, ever. It' such a delightful comedic moment, while also serving to tell us so much about Susie before we've even gotten to know her!


Paul: What have the brothers got to lose? Michelle’s voice starts out soft and tentative, but she quickly gains in confidence and then it’s over, Pfeiffer steps out of the moment with a little, “So?”, and I settle down for a glorious ride.

Michael: Susie's audition scene is everything, all thanks to Pfeiffer's excellence. Her voice is so filled with heartbreaking emotion that I want to cry every time. Not to mention, in that miniskirt and with that sexy red lipstick, she also dials the heat up to near-unbearable levels. A perfect warm up to the unforgettably sexy performance atop Bridges's piano later in the film.


Paul: Some might single out Makin’ Whoopee, or the montage of the trio doing the rounds of Seattle’s nightspots, or Michelle’s cat-and-mouse seduction games with Jeff in the hotel suite, but it’s that audition piece which sparked my glorious obsession. Wherefore art thou Susie Diamond? Have the years been kind to you?

Michael: I too wonder what might've happened to Susie, Paul. Jeff Goldblum, to my eternal delight, once spun out an entire speculative fiction account of his character Ed in Into the Night running back into Michelle's character from that film, Diana. Turns out Diana wound up in the Pacific Northwest singing at piano bars under the name of—wait for it—Susie Diamond. In one extemporaneous moment, Goldblum blew my mind. Diana and Susie share much in common, and I'd love to believe they're one and the same. I also love how it adds to the wonderfully meta world where we Pfeiffer pfans reside: the Pfeifferverse. Susie is an epic character, the kind you want to follow for all her days, to tag along on her journey of self-discovery and liberation. A well written character still needs the right actor to bring it to life onscreen. Michelle Pfeiffer does just that, making Susie into the legendary character we've been loving for thirty years now.

 Thanks, Paul. This was a real treat.

*****

 Further reading:

 Thirty Years of Loving Michelle Pfeiffer as Susie Diamond

 Michelle Pfeiffer: The Fabulous Baker Boys
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Comments

  1. Paul SOctober 11, 2019 at 12:58 PM

    Pfabulous. I think this format works really well. Your commentary flows seemlessly with mine and I'm really happy with the result. I'm glad you enjoyed doing it. Susie Diamond is forever. She's my favourite Pfeiffer character. I think we've done her justice, and the addition of Jeff Goldblum's extemporaneous comments was a masterstroke. I've got so much more to say about that subject. I'll be back with my 2 cents over the weekend. Thanks again my pfriend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John CharetOctober 14, 2019 at 10:08 AM

    This is a wonderful dual review between you and Paul S :) Susie Diamond is without a doubt, Pfeiffer at her sexiest - I mean that seems to be the general consensus among dyed-it-the-wool Pfeiffer fans and If it isn't, it would he be at the very least, rank somewhere in the top 5 in regards :) As for Pfeiffer at her funniest (her being attractive is pretty obvious by now) that would have to go to either John Landis Into the Night or Jonathan Demme's Married to the Mob. Anyway, keep up the great work as always :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Words Seem Out of PlaceOctober 17, 2019 at 6:38 AM

      Thank you, John! Pfeiffer is so extremely sexy as Susie, you're right. It's almost illegal how hot she is in that movie. Like you, I'm also a big fan of her work in Into the Night and Married to the Mob, as Paul well knows.

      Delete
    2. Paul SOctober 21, 2019 at 1:34 PM

      It's great to see John over here, I know a few other people also really enjoyed your you post, but weren't able to comment. Is it me or did Baker Boys' birthday pass without much mention? There seemed to be only you and I who marked the occasion. I did enjoy this and hope we can do it again in the not too distant future.

      Delete
    3. Words Seem Out of PlaceOctober 23, 2019 at 6:13 AM

      I'm sorry to hear people are having trouble commenting. I don't know why. I think just choosing an account to log in with is all that's needed, but I don't know for sure. I sometimes have trouble commenting on your site, so I fear it's some nefarious blogger vs. wordpress thing. And I agree, we seemed to be leading the charge on the Baker Boys 30th, with almost no one else really joining in. I expected to see posts on some bigger websites but nope.

      Delete
    4. Paul SOctober 25, 2019 at 8:03 AM

      I've done a dual post on Batman Returns over at my place. I hope you get chance to have a look over the weekend.
      https://pfeifferfilmsandmegmovies.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/batman-returns-1992/

      Delete

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