(out of ****)
_Sugar_Town_ (R) ***
_The_Suburbans_ (R) 1/2*
For her follow-up to her underseen 1996 effort _Grace_of_My_Heart_, director Allison Anders returns to the musical milieu explored in that film, albeit in a different time and place. _Sugar_Town_, written and directed in tandem by Anders and Kurt Voss, is an exploration of the contemporary Los Angeles music scene by way of an Altman-esque tableau of interlocking characters and storylines. The central thread revolves around a comeback album being pitched by a once-big '80s rock band. As is the case with ensemble films such as this, each individual member has its own personal drama to deal with on his own. Clive (John Taylor) must deal with the sudden appearance of illegitimate son Nerve (Vincent Berry), much to the chagrin of his wife, Eva (Rosanna Arquette), an actress. Deluded, stuck-in-the-glam era Nick's (Michael Des Barres) policy of only sleeping with 20somethings (or younger) is tested when a wealthy 40something's (Beverly D'Angelo) potential financial backing rides on a roll in the hay. The third member, Jonesy (Martin Kemp), doesn't have much of a presence in the film, but that slack is picked up by other loosely connected characters. Guitarist Carl's (John Doe) fidelity to his very pregnant wife (Lucinda Jenney) is tested by an attraction to the fetching singer Rocio (Lumi Cavazos). Eva's production designer friend, Daisy (Ally Sheedy), desperately looks for true love as her new housekeeper, conniving singer Gwen (Jade Gordon), sets her sights on the band's producer Burt (Larry Klein) in her ongoing scheme to make it big.
Ensemble pieces are almost always uneven, with some storylines more engaging than others. _Sugar_Town_ is no exception. The Carl thread, which also encompasses his ne'er-do-well brother's (Richmond Arquette) attraction to his wife, isn't quite as much fun as, say, the Clive/Nerve/Eva storyline. But the lesser storylines are redeemed by the uniformly fine performances and the occasional bit of witty dialogue--making the film a fun, if lightweight, romp.
The same cannot be said of another film about a rock-'n-roll comeback, the terrible so-called comedy _The_Suburbans_. The title is the name of a (fictional) one hit wonder '80s rock quartet, which is revived under the guidance of a young record exec named Cate (Jennifer Love Hewitt, in one of her better performances). The reluctant revival creates drama in each individual member's life. Rory (Tony Guma) and Gil (Will Ferrell) would rather concentrate on other things; the presence of Cate adds strain to Danny's (Donal Lardner Ward) relationship with his longtime girlfriend Grace (Amy Brenneman), who wants a lasting commitment. However, the womanizing Mitch (Craig Bierko) relishes the renewed time in the spotlight.
Unlike _Sugar_Town_, where the lesser plot threads are evened out by more interesting ones, the focus in _The_Suburbans_ lies squarely on the film's least interesting character: Danny--hardly surprising, since Ward is also the director. The character with the second-most screen time is equally dull Rory--again, no surprise, since Guma co-wrote the script with Ward. Bierko and Ferrell give more colorful performances, but they are shoved into the background. Better than those two, however, is Brenneman, who is a refreshing breeze of believability amid the inanity; and the killer duo of Jerry and Ben Stiller, who deliver the film's only funny moments as Cate's father-son superiors at the record company. That the Stillers only have (at most) five minutes of total screen time shows how tedious and, worst of all, painfully laugh-free the rest of the film's scant running time is. (_The_Suburbans_ opens October 29)
Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CompuServe Hollywood Hotline: http://www.HollywoodHotline.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23
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