The plot of The Fabulous Four is one we have seen many times; four long-time friends reunite for one friend’s “event” but old, unsettled drama threatens to ruin the happy reunion. In this case, the event is Marilyn’s wedding, played by the iconic Bette Midler. And the threat? Well, 48 years ago Marilyn stole Lou’s (Susan Sarandon) college boyfriend and ended up marrying him a few months later. This event may seem trivial and it’s rather impressive that one person could stay mad that long, at least the other two fab group members seem to think so. Alice (Megan Mullally) and Kitty (Sheryl Lee Ralph) are over Lou’s cat lady lifestyle and self-pity. They feel she needs to forgive Marilyn for her betrayal because life is too short and they were best friends. Now, it’s time to let bygones be bygones.
But that’s where things take a hard turn. In my opinion, this movie should have been called How to Gaslight Your Friend Until She Stops Believing She Matters To Anyone.
Lou does not have much going on in her life, except for the fact that she’s a highly respected heart surgeon, learns new languages in her spare time and cares for her multiple cats. Her colleague looks at her with pity, Alice and Kitty her artistic and marijuana-growing friends think she has become pathetic. So they hatch a plan! They tell Lou that she has won a six-toed cat from Hemingway House and they want to take her to Key West and pick it up. Lou is excited. Her two friends, who she has not seen in a while, care about her interests so she is over the moon. But this set-up strikes the wrong chord.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some genuinely good bits in this film. Marilyn is on TikTok and her edits are absolutely hilarious. (Whoever wrote that aspect of her character really has a pulse on how Boomers understand the app and it totally worked.) Susan Sarandon played the ultimate hater- her facial expressions had me cackling. From the moment that she saw Marilyn’s face, she did not try to hide her disposition. The chemistry between these four heavy hitter actresses was excellent. Despite story-pacing issues, they really felt like long term friends on screen. There were also some very tender moments, especially after the hilarious show down between Marilyn and Lou.
But there were two main issues that I had with this film. First and foremost the women were awful to Lou as everyone is a professional gaslighter toward her. Also, unfortunately, the ‘one black friend’ trope lives on.
What do Last Vegas, Otherhood, and Summer Camp all have in common? One black friend. Yes, that one black friend who lived in their liberal, white neighbourhood or attended that predominantly white college, whom they became super close with. It blows my mind that, even in their golden years, these writers who make films specifically for that demographic can’t escape their internalized racism. At this point, they should know better- a thousand critiques of the ‘black friend’ trope have been written in response to their era of filmmaking yet they have just heard crickets.
Personally, I found the entire plot of Fabulous both disturbing and problematic. It is meant to be a comedy but it’s really a portrait of a woman who spent her life being emotionally abused by her closest friends. Lou was the high achiever in the group. She was fun but reliable, she was the serious friend you could count on and was in love with John. [Spoilers Begin] The night that Marilyn and John fell in love didn’t happen as an act of fate. Marilyn planned it. During the scene where this is revealed, it is absolutely disgusting how Kitty, Alice and Marilyn tell it. [Spoilers End]
It is a brutal scene because it is paralleled to Lou’s version of the event to her new male friend. She is heartbroken and her spirit is crushed. She was betrayed by her best friends, Alice and Kitty basically took Marilyn’s side and she lost someone she loved deeply. His response to her trauma? He tells her Marilyn is one of her oldest and dearest friends and that she should ‘open her heart’. What sort of advice is that? It is no wonder how and why this vibrant, young, accomplished woman grew into a shell of herself. It is no wonder why she feels like she doesn’t matter.
In the end, there is a resolution to this conflict and a very touching one between Marilyn and Lou. But the way that Lou’s ‘friends’ tell her that it’s her fault their friendship has been destroyed because she can’t let go of the past is infuriating. I will not give away anything else – I encourage you to watch the film because it is FUN, but it’s also formulaic and does not serve up a satisfying or fair ending.
Que the happy music! The Fabulous Four is in theatres now.
