The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 15, 2024

Didn’t we just do this? Earlier this year, there was “Summer Camp,” which detailed the experiences of four older woman working on relationships while dealing with a vacation getaway. And now there’s “The Fabulous Four,” which follows four older women working on relationships while dealing with a vacation getaway. There’s some serious déjà vu going on here, but this can all be traced back to the unexpected success of 2018’s “Book Club,” which found an audience for its sustained mildness and use of seasoned thespians. “The Fabulous Four” looks to drink from the same fountain, offering its target audience more silly shenanigans with capable actresses, but the screenplay (by Jenna Milly and Ann Marie Allison) is relentlessly awful. Hope for sharp humor is lost in the opening moments of the picture, and elements of heart are simply DOA. What’s left is a dispiriting collection of sitcom moments that’s increasingly dire to watch.

Once longtime pals, Lou (Susan Sarandon), Marilyn (Bette Midler), Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph), and Alice (Megan Mullally) are now dealing with their own lives. A recent widower, Marilyn has moved to Key West, getting ready to marry the new man in her life. She wants her old squad to be her bridesmaids, luring Kitty, a cannabis farmer, and Alice, a singer, to the celebration, while Lou, a doctor, needs to be conned into coming, due to her estrangement from the bride-to-be. Lying to Lou about a chance to take home a six-toed cat from the Hemingway House, Kitty and Alice hope for the best as a reunion takes place. Shocked to be in Marilyn’s company again, Lou is reminded of their issues involving a man from their past, and while furious, she finds a distraction in Ted (Bruce Greenwood), a local interested in getting to know her.

The craziest aspect of “The Fabulous Four” is that Jocelyn Moorhouse is credited as the director of the film. The gifted helmer of “Proof,” “How to Make an American Quilt,” and “The Dressmaker” is certainly entitled to a paycheck gig, but there are no signs of life in this effort, which finds Moorehouse trying to make the lamest situations humorous and, at times, heartening. The first act is devoted to identifying the main characters and their personal issues, with Marilyn jumping back into marriage after moving to Key West, excited about the change and her presence on TikTok. Lou is dealing with age as a surgeon. Kitty is trying to build an edibles empire, facing the wrath of her religious daughter. And Alice likes weed and sex, gliding along in life. Their reunion is meant to be a joyous occasion, but bad blood remains between Lou and Marilyn, requiring Kitty and Alice to lie to their doctor pal to get her on a plane.

Minutes of “The Fabulous Four” are devoted to Kitty and Alice cooking up a plan to bring Lou to Key West, conjuring a story about a six-toed cat raffle she’s won. It’s one of many dud ideas in the writing, which is particularly fond about putting Marilyn in slapstick situations, including her panic with an aggressively vibrating chair and her fumbling of smart house apps. She’s also a social media addict, sharing her gyrations on TikTok, which plays like product placement. More commercial interests arrive when the gang hits Key West, with “The Fabulous Four” working extra hard to sell the splendor of the area. However, while it seems like a lovely place, what happens there in the feature is anything but appealing.

Audiences are treated to weak concepts for goofiness, with Lou using a Kegel ball to stop a bike thief on the streets. And there’s an entire sequence where Lou, a woman of medicine, fails to not understand she’s ingesting cannabis-infused chocolate from a clearly labeled package, sending her on a boat ride where she gets loopy and dreams of a cat replacing her at the hospital. And that same trip puts Kitty, Alice, and Marilyn up in the air on a parasailing experience, where they sing a song and manage to get disconnected from the boat, crashing into the beach. And it’s best to not get into the wholly bizarre happenings during a male strip club visit, but Moorhouse does become very crotch-happy with her closeups, suggesting she’s not all that interested in the movie either.

The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Fabulous Four" supplies a bright sense of Key West life. Color does well here, securing the primaries of the area, including blue skies and greenery. Costuming is carries defined hues as well, exploring casual wear and wedding outfits. Skin tones are natural. Detail does fine, examining some skin particulars on the cast, along with fibrous clothing. Location distances are preserved, along with tourism shots, detailing life in the area. Interiors retain clear decoration. Delineation is satisfactory. Compression mostly holds together.

The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix delivers sharp dialogue exchanges, capturing the somewhat manic nature of some group scenes. Intelligibility survives. Scoring is clear, with distinct instrumentation. A few soundtrack cuts maintain crisp vocals. Musical moods do work with the surrounds at times, and low-end is active with heavier beats. Atmospherics are acceptable, exploring Key West activity.

The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

The Fabulous Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Fabulous Four" makes a modest effort to include some heart, as Marilyn and Lou are tasked with working out their differences, and Kitty has to deal with her lunatic daughter. However, this isn't a sweet movie, with Allison and Milly aiming to be funny with the chaos of the wedding event, creating caricatures instead of interesting people with real problems to address. "The Fabulous Four" has television-style ideas, turns of plot, and tempo, finding Moorehouse unable to make a real screen riot with the endeavor, and she definitely has a cast willing to play. They just have nothing to work with.