The Banger Sisters (2002)

Lavinia and Suzette, former rock groupies and best friends, reconnect after 20 years; one is still as wild as ever, while the other has adopted a more conservative lifestyle.

Director:

Bob Dolman

Writer:

Bob Dolman

Stars:

Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Rush

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Goldie Hawn	...	Suzette
Susan Sarandon	...	Lavinia Kingsley
Geoffrey Rush	...	Harry Plummer
Erika Christensen	...	Hannah Kingsley
Robin Thomas	...	Raymond Kingsley
Eva Amurri Martino	...	Ginger Kingsley (as Eva Amurri)
Matthew Carey	...	Jules
Andre Ware	...	Jake
Adam Tomei	...	Club Owner
Sal Lopez	...	Pump Attendant
Kohl Sudduth	...	Hotel Clerk
Tinsley Grimes	...	Prom Girl
Larry Krask	...	Man in Bar
Marlayna Cherisse	...	Young Groupie (as Marlayna Garrett)
Josh Todd	...	L.A. Buckcherry Band Member

Storyline

When fiftysomething Suzette loses her job as a bartender she decides to make a road trip to visit her old friend Vinnie who she hasn't seen since their days as groupies back in the day. On the way she meets Harry, a nervous writer who says he is going home to confront his father, then shows her his gun. Once they reach their destination Suzette finds that Vinnie is now Lavinia, a conservative housewife who is reluctant to reexperience the flower power of her youth, and Harry finds confrontation with himself rather than with his father.

---

Plot Keywords:

writer | bartender | lawyer | road trip | gun | 

---

Taglines:

Some friendships last forever... like it or not.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official website [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Groupies Forever

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£201,731 (UK) (31 January 2003)

Gross:

$256,084 (Brazil) (7 February 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Gran Via, Elizabeth Cantillon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bob Dolman got the idea for the film from a line of Jim Morrison's poem "Stoned Immaculate" ("One summer night, going to the pier I ran into two young girls. The blonde was called Freedom, the dark one Enterprise"), which he'd heard while rewriting the script to The Doors.

---

Goofs

During the "Family Dinner", a bottle of red wine is prominently displayed on the table. The table is viewed from several angles and it is clear that this is the only such bottle there. Lavinia suddenly rises and walks away but then returns to grab the bottle and this time leaves with bottle in hand (and mouth). The camera returns to the table where the bottle is once again prominently displayed.

---

Quotes

Hannah: Mom caught me and Jules in the pool together.
Ginger: So?
Hannah: We weren't swimming.

---

Connections

Featured in HBO First Look: The Banger Sisters (2002)

---

Soundtracks

"Grind Your Mind"
Written and Performed by Jonathan Hayes and Chris Nash

User Reviews

oh goody... another one of these

... another movie in which white people are shown to be uptight, twisted amoral morons needing a 'natural force' to show them the error of their ways. In this case, though, it's not Whoopi Goldberg, it's Goldie Hawn who breezes into town (Phoenix, in this case), teaches everyone who their true self is (in less than 24 hours - quite a trick!), and breezes out again. It's an old story (these days), and not very well told.

The only real character (despite the title) is Goldie Hawn's Suzette. Nobody else really gets to enunciate what the heck is wrong with them (though they all know it, which is quite a trick in itself), or gets to say anything interesting at all. So what we're left with is Goldie Hawn and a bunch of cardboard cutouts of unhappy people whose problems are so skin-deep that they can be solved more or less instantaneously (heck, even the guy with father issues, who intends to shoot himself over his father's grave is cured with the equivalent of "snap out of it" and a little -- very little -- sex.)

So give this one a pass; it ain't worth your time. 2/10