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The Banger Sisters /

Rated: R
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Geoffrey Rush, Erika Christensen, Robin Thomas
Directed by: Bob Dolman
Produced by: Mark Johnson, Elizabeth Cantillon
Written by: Bob Dolman

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

 

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Movie Image

Movie Image

   The Banger Sisters is the first movie to come along in a long time that can make the “girls just want to have fun” type deal funny. In the film we get screwball jokes about the nineteen-fifties, a very interesting performance from Susan Sarandon, and an all around good time.

     The plot tells the story of two old rock-buddies, who Frank Zappa named “The Banger Sisters”. Though close as ever in the mid-nineteen-hundreds, as time grew on they became more and more different and eventually grew apart. In present day, one turns out to be a rich mother married to a lawyer, and, well, the other one stays the same; a rip-roarin’ groupie.

     When Suzette (Godie Hawn), the one still caught up in old-times, loses her job at a bar, she plans to get rich quick by begging her old buddy, Lavina (Susan Sarandon), for some money. Even though they haven’t seen each other for years, she still believes because of an emotional bond that once lived, and that her pal’s husband is a lawyer, she will lend her some money. She makes the one day road trip from Hollywood to Phoenix, but when she finally reunites with her former “sister”, things get messy; they have grown far apart over the passing years and their different personalities clash.

     Susan Sarandon put on one of the best, and funniest, performances of the year. In her sudden dive back into the movie industry (with this, Moonlight Mile, and Igby Goes Down), she has only gotten to be a better actress. Here she plays the hilarious Lavina, a groupie turned perfectionist; dishing out one of the most comedially inspiring performances of the year. Though Goldie was a treat to watch, she was the one who set everything up and going.

     This film was the perfect opportunity for Erika Christensen to make a comeback from the terrifyingly bad, recently released Swimfan, and she took it. Instead of taking the stupid and easy role of the average teenage psycho bitch, she played a hypocrite valedictorian. Everyone looks up to her character, who is secretly on acid, and has a strange addiction to just about every type of wine mixture. Her performance was well lit up by Hawn and Sarandon’s different, and quite interesting, reactions to her characters mixed and stirring emotions.

     Fox Searchlight is the best film franchise ever created. Similar to Lion’s Gate, they take great scripts and talented stars, and make low budget movies. They have already created four hits: this film, Kissing Jessica Stein, The Good Girl, and One Hour Photo. You might ask me why I say “hits”, due to the marginal grosses of all of these productions; but the truth is that since all of these are so low-budget, if movie-goers even remotely buy into them, they make profit almost instantly. The weekend gross of this movie was ten-million dollars, it took exactly that to make; they will make loads of profit. This method is much safer than what huge studios risk with big-budget films. 

     Offering great laughs with helpless intentions, The Banger Sisters thrives on energetic comedy. Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon have the best chemistry of any pair in this entire year, and will definitely get you going.  With that said, exhibiting perfect execution and flawless performances, this film is definitely worth a watch.

-Danny, Bucket Reviews

 


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