The Banger Sisters on DVD

Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, and Geoffrey Rush bring class, energy, talent, and experience to what could otherwise have been merely an insubstantial piece of fluff.

Thanks to them, a smart script, good direction, and a lot of heart, The Banger Sisters is an insubstantial piece of fluff that ,manages to be a lot of fun and caused us to laugh out loud more than once.

Hawn is Suzette, half of a pair of ex-groupies known back in the good old days as the Banger Sisters. She’s still basically a Banger Sister, living the old lifestyle and working in a rock ‘n’ roll nightclub - until society and reality catch up with her and she finds herself out on her fifty-something rear end with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

It’s as if she’s emerged from thirty-some years of darkness into the bright sun of 2002, and her "inner eyes" are forced to blink until they get accustomed to that light.

Which is the rest of the movie….

The only thing she can think of to do is go to Phoenix and visit her old best friend Lavinia (Sarandon), who she hasn’t seen in twenty years but understands is now living a pampered life as a lawyer’s wife.

On the way, her new reality keeps rearing its ugly head: when her credit card is turned down at a gas station she’s forced to beg from other customers.

Fortunately, one of those other customers is a stereotypically messed up writer (Rush), who’s also going to Phoenix but who’s so fussy he can’t stand to be on public transit. He offers Suzette a tank of gas in exchange for a ride, and thus begins their relationship.

Suzette is the irresistible force in The Banger Sisters, and she has a remarkable effect on a number of immovable objects, from the old friend who’s embarrassed to be reminded of her Banger past, to Lavinia's spoiled and uptight family, to the writer with demons, and even to the desk clerk at a Phoenix hotel.

And while she’s unknowingly teaching others some important life lessons - which may seem weird since she’s the one who started the movie seemingly detached from reality - she also grows.

This is really Hawn’s movie, with everyone else in a supporting role, and she’s terrific in what’s basically the same role her daughter played in Cameron Crowe’s wonderful “Almost Famous, ” though about thirty years on. Sarandon also does a good job in a nice change of pace from her chosen real life role as a typical Hollywood liberal whacko, while the “usually serious actor” (Mystery Men excepted) Rush is delicious as the messed up writer.

You always know where this movie is headed, but it doesn’t matter; it’s an enjoyable ride getting there whether it’s in Suzette’s beaten up old El Camino or Vinnie’s new Mercedes Benz ML series SUV.

The DVD’s pretty good, too. 20th Century Fox has wisely chosen to release both anamorphic widescreen and Pan&Scan versions of the film on the same disc, on opposite sides, and this is a wonderful change from the current trend toward ripping off consumers by making them roll the dice on which version they’ll want five years from now when they’ve all bought widescreen TV’s (see our expose on the subject here).

Picture quality is DVD average, which means it’s very good, with sharp images and good color. Audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and, though there isn’t much in the way of surround, the overall quality is very good - and the electric bass guitar in some of the background music is excellent.

Extras include a running commentary by writer/director Dolman, some fairly amusing outtakes, and a couple of trailers.

The Banger Sisters, from 20th Century Fox Home Video
98 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible / Pan&Scan
Starring Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Rush,
Produced by Mark Johnson and Elizabeth Cantillon
Written and Directed by Bob Dolman

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