85
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyThe Fabulous Baker Boys is like a beloved movie from the glory days of Hollywood. It transports you. It's an American rhapsody.
- 91The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinWith humor that cuts through a deep undercurrent of sadness, Baker Boys captures the rinky-dink milieu of second-rate lounges, where patron kibitzing threatens to drown out the piano-tinkling of the paid entertainment.
- 90The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinIt's a film specializing in smoky, down-at-the-heels glamour, and in the kind of smart, slangy dialogue that sounds right without necessarily having much to say.
- The film clearly nods to old-school Hollywood and Vegas, but it has a sharp edge that keeps it funny and authentically modern, with Steve Kloves's streetwise and sometimes surprisingly elegiac script summing up the seediness and melancholy of 80s glamour.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThere is a scene in The Fabulous Baker Boys where Michelle Pfeiffer, wearing a slinky red dress, uncurls on top of a piano while singing "Makin' Whoopee." The rest of the movie is also worth the price of admission.
- 88Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe Fabulous Baker Boys ultimately soars on the strength of its three perfectly cast stars, who collectively wed studies of glamour (Jeff Bridges and Pfeiffer) with ruminations on the pain of life as an everyman among stars (Beau Bridges).
- 80EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanThe luxurious feel of the film is a perfect counterpoint to the painful truths drawn on each brother's face, whilst Pfieffer is much more than eye candy.
- 80Time OutTime OutWith more than enough witty, well-observed details, it's a little charmer.
- 70Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversPfeiffer is a knockout; she’s the sexiest presence in movies today and an exceptional comic and dramatic actress, to boot.