| THE BANGER SISTERS Rating:  Director: Bob Dolman Producers: Martin Bregman, Michael Bregman Writer: Bob Dolman Director of Photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub Cast: Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Geoffrey Rush Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew |
 Click the photo to buy merchandise from The Banger Sisters |
Review by: Curtis
Raines
9/21/02
I've been through major surgery, have endured extensive dental work and even a broken nose. But nothing in my life has been more painful than to request to the guy in the ticket booth, "One for The Banger Sisters." After giving me the oddest of looks, I immediately defended my manhood and asked if he had seen the De La Hoya vs. Vargas fight. He saw right through my strategy as he handed over the ticket and mocked me by saying, "Here's your one for The Banger Sisters."
I panicked and responded with, "Look at those good looking girls over there, man. I sure do like girls. Girls are great, aren't they??" He replied with, "Next in line?"
Was this real? Was I actually walking into The Banger Sisters by myself? Was I sub-consciously hoping to see previews for The Joy Luck Club II? Wait a minute, let's just slow down here. Even though I was one of maybe two males in the entire theater, I had to be open-minded about this film. Now I'll admit, other female driven films in the past (Thelma and Louise, How to Make an American Quilt, How Stella Got Her Groove Back) have been a big disappointment to me. I was afraid this would continue the trend.
The first difference I noticed about Bob Dolman's The Banger Sisters is that this movie is about a friendship. It's not about women, but rather two characters that happen to be women. Goldie Hawn plays Suzette, a bartender at the hip Hollywood club, The Whiskey A Go-Go. But her better days are long gone, as her looks have faded and her memories of being a popular groupie are all that she has left. The walls cave in as she gets let go from her bartender position leaving her with a handful of unpaid bills. Her only hope is to visit her old friend Lavinia (Susan Sarandon) whom has since gone on to lead a wealthy, successful life in the suburbs of Arizona.
Driving cross-country to ask her old friend for money, Suzette picks up a stranded neurotic homebody named Harry (Geoffrey Rush). They immediately bond as both are heading for Arizona after failed dreams in L.A. Although on the surface, Harry, Lavinia and Suzette appear to be worlds apart, on the inside they all have troubles they soon face together.
Goldie Hawn, who hasn't been good since... oh, I don't know... ever, is very likeable and easily the best part of this film, while her counterpart, Susan Sarandon, compliments Hawn by being the proverbial "set-up man" to Hawn's jokes. Geoffrey Rush, who has probably been praying for a sequel to Shine the past few years, might just restore his career with a solid performance of his own. Now the movie is a bit Speilberg-like (happy ending), but the comedic moments always seem to lift the movie up as soon as it starts to be a little trite and contrived.
But I can honestly say that the audience I viewed it with laughed more during this film than my audiences for My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Austin Powers III. The on-screen chemistry is great which the audience and myself picked up on right from the get go.
All in all, I was very surprised after seeing this film. There were many more laughs than I expected and considering it's Bob Dolman's directorial debut, I was impressed with his ability to use character reaction shots to enhance those comedic moments. And his writing efforts after penning Far and Away and Willow show a drastic improvement. Of course, Tom Cruise with an Irish accent and Val Kilmer prancing around with a midget sidekick on the big screen are probably a writer's worst nightmares. I'll give him credit; Dolman has obviously learned from his mistakes and put together a solid, watchable film.
Now that that is said and done, I think I'm gonna go watch football, grow a beard and drink some beers until my manhood is restored. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm going to curl up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and pop Little Women in the VCR.
(A Fox Searchlight release. Opened
wide on September 20.)
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