Michelle Pfeiffer’s grand entrance in The Fabulous Baker Boys is quite possibly my favorite by any actor in any film, ever. Susie Diamond stumbles into view, in the hall outside of where the Baker Boys are holding auditions for a new singer. Not only does she careen into view on a broken high heel shoe, but also unleashes a well-timed and hilariously delivered expletive. After Frank Baker (Beau Bridges) tries to tell her the auditions are over because punctuality is the first rule of show business, Susie looks around the unimpressive audition space and deadpans, “This is show business?” Definitely a line I’ve used on many occasions and in various situations.
Then, of course, she blows the roof off the dump and wows the Baker Boys with a stunningly sensitive rendition of “More Than You Know.” Susie’s introduction is funny and unforgettable, immediately endearing her to us, and everything else Pfeiffer does in the film after only further enhances our love and affection for this fabulous character.
Introducing my new site might not be as memorable as Susie’s first appearance, but it feels like the right thing to do. Sure, I did a brief intro last time, in the site’s first post, so I’ll just extrapolate a bit from there. If you followed me at my old place, you might be wondering what will be different around here. Well, I’m not entirely sure yet, but I can tell you one overriding goal I’ve set for myself here, and that is to allow the muse to take me where it may, be more spontaneous both in content and execution, and find new and creative ways to express myself through engaging with what I’m fluent in and enjoy most: popular culture, and specifically cinema.
This might mean less review-oriented content and more personal-essay-via-film-analysis, if that makes sense. Really, the first post is a perfect example – exploring my feelings about starting fresh at a new site through a discussion of Susie Diamond and the Baker Boys. Another example of where I’d like to go with my writing here is a piece I wrote a few weeks ago for Diabolique where I note the similarities between living during a pandemic right now and the 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Even explaining all of this feels wrong, and like I’m already falling into that trap of unnecessarily spelling things out. Basically, if you like personal writing mixed with film and pop culture analysis that helps make the personal feel universal, then this is the place for you. For those of you who loved certain recurring series at my old site, like “It Came From the ’90s” or “Misspent Youth,” it’s possible I’ll resurrect them here, but that’s still to be determined. If I do, they might be slightly different, hopefully new and improved.
One thing you can absolutely count on around here is seeing a lot of Susie Diamond and the fabulous actress who brought her to life. After all, this is the Starfire Lounge, where Susie is welcome back any night she chooses to grace the stage with her inimitable presence.
The Starfire Lounge 
You now how I feel about Susie’s entrance in The Fabulous Baker Boys, I think we might have talked about it, once or twice before. The whole sequence is perfect and a great showcase for Michelle’s talents.
Likewise, I’m sure this place is going to be a great showcase for your talents. I do like the sound of “more personal-essay-via-film-analysis” rather than reviews. I tend to gravitate towards writers like you, rather than the sites that review, review, review. Given our shared affection for a certain actress I’m sure I’ll be spending many more nights here at the Starfire Lounge.
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Thank you my pfriend. I figure I’ll still be writing more straight up reviews for different sites I contribute to, so I’d rather make my site a little more personal, a little more homey. That got away from sometimes on the old site, so I’m excited to refocus that energy here. I bet you and would’ve had some wild nights at the Stardust back in the day, especially on the evenings when Susie was singing.
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