Film Review – THE FABULOUS FOUR (2024): Jocelyn Moorhouse’s Comedy Has Some Tender Moments and a Cast That Can’t Be Beat

The Fabulous Four Review

The Fabulous Four (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, written by Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly and starring Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sophie von Haselberg, Deja De, Michael Bolton, Brandee Evans, Kaden Taylor, Avangeline Friedlander, Bruce Greenwood, Renika Williams, Abigail Dolan, David Goren, Kadan Well Bennett, Timothy V. Murphy, Molly Hargrave and Nicholas Velez.

Jocelyn Moorhouse (How to Make an American Quilt)’s new film, The Fabulous Four, is touching and enormously entertaining at certain intervals but it’s a comedy above all else, and as such, the audience is occasionally forced to endure scenarios that are exaggerated for comic effect. Those exaggerations hurt the film because they make the sincerity of much of the film’s earnest plot revelations feel trivialized a bit. That being said, the film features a cast of veteran actresses who know how to put on a good show regardless of whether or not the script runs in a million different directions or not. Susan Sarandon, the divine Miss M- Bette Midler, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph are the stars and have a good time making the viewer laugh but the performances can also lead to some moments that tug at the heartstrings more than was expected.

Midler stars as Marilyn, an aging woman staying in Key West, Florida with TikTok video aspirations whose longtime husband has passed away. Marilyn’s getting remarried and her friends, Alice (Mullally), a singer, and Kitty (Ralph), a weed specialist, are already off to celebrate with her. The presence of their one-time friend, Lou (Sarandon), a surgeon, would probably be awkward but it feels somehow necessary to bring Lou together with Marilyn to make up for the problems they had in their past. What other way can one-time best friends truly move forward than by confronting their past?

There were past difficulties between Marilyn and Lou over a man and the plot has a lot in store for Lou and Marilyn because Lou does show up in Florida when she’s hilariously lied to. Cat lover, Lou, thinks she’s getting a unique type of cat but the cat is just a “cat”alyst for Lou’s return to the friends who she has been estranged from for far too long. Lou could be mad that she was lied to and is reuniting with Marilyn who hurt her feelings but the scenery is nice and the friendships are strong. It doesn’t hurt that Marilyn is residing in a lavish home near where author Ernest Hemingway penned some of his work.

There are at least a couple of subplots that are sprinkled into the picture. One involves the determined Kitty’s religious daughter, Leslie (a well-cast Brandee Evans) who wants her mom to resort to something she’s not likely to do. That story line is touching but the movie focuses on the male characters in the picture a bit better. The men in this movie, luckily, are well-written characters. One is Ted (Bruce Greenwood) who plays a major role in the development of the movie’s story line and the other is Timothy V. Murphy as Captain Ernie with whom Lou forms a bond with over their mutual Hemingway appreciation. Greenwood and Murphy excel in their parts within the movie, offering some intriguing character development along the way.

There are almost two sets of separate friendships in the “Fabulous Four,” referred to in the film’s title. Midler and Sarandon’s characters have their own set of situations to work through which makes their story a compelling one while Ralph and Mullally have a connection of their own and play off each other like a beautifully conducted opus with perfect timing. Of course, all four of them are friends but, at times, the movie focuses on different character-driven situations with interesting results. Mullally’s character’s tendency to run towards younger men is one of the film’s problems because it undercuts the seriousness of some of the other themes the movie runs with. It just feels too exaggerated for her singer character to be so open at times when you’d think she’d be the opposite. Nevertheless, the stars shine through some cringe-worthy moments to give the movie a fresh, upbeat feel.

Midler overacts all the way through the movie and rightfully so. She reminds us why she is the gift to the world of entertainment that she is. Sarandon, in the less showy role, holds her own with dignity and makes the viewer relate to her character’s tribulations throughout. Though these two actresses are playing characters with a lot of differences in etiquette, they come together as friends often do in times of need. There are a few surprises at the end which will satisfy viewers.

When Michael Bolton comes on, it’s also a fun scenario and it’s nice to see Bolton working again after many were not overly impressed with his work with Zooey Deschanel on the TV show from a few years back, The Celebrity Dating Game. This new film comes together all the more impressively for including surprises like Bolton in the mixed bag it offers its viewers.

The Fabulous Four is the type of movie that feels like it’s been done before albeit not in this exact way but the cast is sublime which, in turn, gives the film a vibrant feeling. Look, let’s face it, the female buddy/bonding movie has hit saturation in terms of how many of these types of pictures have come out recently. But, if it’s an excuse to see Midler, Sarandon, Ralph and Mullally working again, I’ll take it. The exquisite screen presence of these stars will give audiences something to laugh about and, due to plot road blocks, maybe even something to cry over, but expect to laugh more.

Rating: 7/10

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