Review of The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) by Mikka W — 18 Dec 2016

My all-time personal favourite. This movie captures an era and way of life that any musician alive during that time can relate to. From the viewpoint of 2016 it's nearly a period piece. A throwback to a seemingly more laissez-faire time, where political correctness was not yet a thing.

People smoked in bars, diners & music venues. A starving musician could afford cheap rent in a "shitty" loft in downtown Seattle and audiences still appreciated live lounge music. Albeit, TFBB was also emblematic for the end of an era that got superseded by DJs and canned music in todays bars.

For anyone over 40, this is a slice of nostalgia, simple, soulful, real, touching and passionately acted out in the three main characters. I usually get sick of watching a particular movie more than 3 or 4 times, but TFBB is one of a handful of movies that get better each time I watch it.

After dozens of viewing, I now watch it more for the feeling than the scene by scene, but despite knowing each line off-by-heart, it has become no less enjoyable. Gruisin's Jazz soundtrack is a regular on my in-car rotation.