Movie Review ~ The Fabulous Four

Within the last decade, there have been a pleasing number of films that have embraced the notion that women over 50 can anchor box office hits.  Celebrating seasoned feminine friendship is no longer relegated to TV movies of the week with the biggest stars of the top network shows but features Oscar winners and stars with sizable followings thanks to their long careers.  Do I wish films like Book Club (and its 2023 sequel), 80 for Brady, and Queen Pins were better made and represented the talent onscreen with a bit more sophistication?  Of course.  These films have a strange waxiness, a goopy plasticity that says, “We’ll make this movie, but you have to do it for $15.  And it would help if you had a scene where one of the women gets high.”

The early previews for The Fabulous Four did not look promising, suggesting it would be another carbon copy version of golden gals navigating life, love, and friendship. Headlined by Susan Sarandon and Bette Midler, who have made two of the best films ever about female friendship (Sarandon’s Thelma & Louise and Midler’s Beaches), and joined by Sheryl Lee Ralph and Megan Mullally, I knew I wanted to see the film because I genuinely like everyone in it and would actively seek out their work anyway.  Still, I dreaded it would hold the same disappointment Summer Camp did just a few months earlier. Surprisingly, while the film trades on familiarity, it develops into a lighthearted romp that raucously mixes humor and heart with a little raunchy fun. 

After her husband dies, Marilyn (Midler, Hocus Pocus) moves to Key West for a fresh start.  Driven to the airport by her daughter (played by Midler’s real-life doppelgänger offspring, Sophie von Haselberg, Love… Reconsidered), she’s nearly inconsolable to be departing.  This starkly contrasts her mere months later as she calls her best gal pals to let them know she’s engaged and getting married…that weekend.  She needs bridesmaids and wants singer Alice (Megan Mullally, Dicks: The Musical) and weed-growing botanist Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph) to join her. 

The only question mark is Lou (Sarandon, Ride the Eagle), Marilyn’s estranged best friend who fell out with her years earlier over a man they were both in love with.  Tricking the busybody heart surgeon into joining them (I hope no one needs a valve replaced that weekend!) through her love of cats and Ernest Hemmingway, Alice and Kitty attempt a reconciliation between the women.  However, it isn’t long before the claws come out.  Old wounds resurface while new sparks fly (Doctor Sleep’s Bruce Greenwood and The Lone Ranger’s Timothy V. Murphy are the finely weathered hunks for the taking), and what starts as a simple bridesmaid gig spirals into a wild adventure.

Director Jocelyn Moorhouse’s latest film is full of lively antics, and although they may not be highly uproarious, they are still quite charming. Moorhouse, known for The Dressmaker and How to Make an American Quilt, brings a vibrant, if occasionally uneven, touch to the movie.  It’s predictable in how it brings the women together, only to separate them again before the final parade of tears and understanding can pass.  Screenwriters Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly (the writers behind the underseen gem, Golden Arm) have the women talking about Kegel balls and, yes, experimenting with weed, but they never bring them down to a level where they debase themselves in pursuit of a laugh.  Many jokes are improved because of Midler’s brassy physicality or Ralph’s comic timing. 

All four women are powerhouses who prove they can still bring magnetism to the screen, although when you get a quartet of stars together, there are inevitably some who rise to the top.  By the nature of the script, Sarandon and Midler seem to be showcased more than the others.  It’s no fault of theirs, and with Sarandon bringing her trademark vulnerability and wit and Midler being her irresistible blend of spice and sweetness, they are the glue that holds the bulk of the movie together.  Midler is so enjoyably vivacious in The Fabulous Four that it reminded me of her earlier roles in favorites like Outrageous Fortune and Big Business.

The script falters a bit when picking up some slack with Ralph, replacingthe originally announced Sissy Spacek, and Mullally.  Ralph’s Kitty is often the voice of reason for the women, and her reality checks amidst the chaos eventually lead to a warm finale that allows her to show off her rich singing voice.  The subplot involving her ultra-religious daughter and recently out grandson (who moonlights as a stripper) feels awkwardly shoved in for and therefore never given much time to resolve itself.  Even more of an afterthought is Mullaly’s sex-crazed songstress, so ill-defined we aren’t even sure what kind of musician she wants to be.  When she finally does sing, it’s with Michael Bolton (yes, that one), who is so stiff that he looks like a wax figure has come to life, but only in the lips.  Mullally’s character also vanishes for long stretches of the film and is even absent for part of the group number at the end, where Ralph does the main singing…

While the comedy lands more often than not, the film’s modest budget occasionally shows its seams.  There’s a chintzy quality to the production that betrays the luxe lifestyle we’re supposed to believe Marilyn is a part of.  You almost wonder if The Fabulous Four would have been better served premiering on a streaming platform instead of premiering in theaters.  Despite all this, Roberto Schaefer’s cinematography uses the scenic backdrop of Key West (really Savannah, GA) to provide a picturesque setting for the shenanigans Sarandon, Midler, Mullally, and Ralph get up to.

The Fabulous Four is a perfectly decent entry in the women-of-a-certain-age comedy genre.  It absolutely delivered far more than its underwhelming trailer suggested.  It’s an unapologetically feel-good package that doesn’t rewrite the rules of the game but offers a delightful escape for 90 or so odd minutes.  I don’t think it needed to be rated R, and having that restriction will keep people away, which is too bad.  Still, the likable cast has infectious chemistry, and audiences craving a dose of nostalgia with enjoyable humor will find this Key West getaway fun and fresh, if not always fabulous.