The Banger Sisters (2002)

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

Director:

Bob Dolman

Writer:

Bob Dolman

Stars:

Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, 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

In West Hollywood, Suzette, now on the far side of middle age, has always been a party girl, leading a life solely for the here and now. When the here and now leads to her without a job, no money and thus no sense of whether her partying life has gotten her anywhere, she decides to go into her distant past to visit in Phoenix an old friend, Vinnie, who she has not seen or talked to in twenty years. In their shared past, Suzette and Vinnie were Los Angeles groupies coined the Banger Sisters for their penchant to sleep with any and all rock musicians who came through Southern California. Suzette does know however that Vinnie's life has changed, she married to Raymond, a lawyer who has political aspirations, the two who have two teenaged daughters. It is in part the reason she decides to visit now well off Vinnie, to see if she will lend her some money. Suzette reconsiders when she finds out just how far Vinnie has changed. She now goes by her full given name Lavinia, and is not only the...

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Plot Keywords:

road trip | female protagonist | rock star | real life mother and daughter playing mother and daughter | midlife crisis | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official website [United States]

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 USA:

$10,037,846, 22 September 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$30,307,416, 26 December 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$38,068,353

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures,Gran Via,Elizabeth Cantillon Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan Sarandon and Eva Amurri Martino are mother and daughter, and this is their fourth film together. Amurri can also be seen as the younger version of Lavinia in Suzette's photo collection.

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Goofs

Comercially viable, easy to use instant cameras, such as the Polaroid, first became available in 1948. Rock singer Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971, at age 27. The movie takes place in 2002. Suzette and Vinny had not seen each other since either 1982 or 1986 (they disagreed as to whether it had been 16 years or 20 years since they had parted ways). Morrison died 11 years before 1982 and 15 years before 1986. But as the Polaroid instant cameras and film went on sale about 1948, it's possible that someone other than Suzette and Vinny had photographed him, either entirely or only specific parts, between the years 1948 and 1971. And nothing was said about the dates or ages of any of those "naughty" quickie shots.

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Quotes

Suzette: Ever heard of Frank Zappa?
Harry: Sure. The Mothers of Invention.
Suzette: Wow. Very good Harry. Well, he named us. The Banger Sisters.
Harry: But you weren't really sisters.
Suzette: No
Harry: Good 'cause I wouldn't have been comfortable if you were sisters.
Suzette: You're not comfortable now, Harry.

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Connections

Referenced in Eastsiders: Thelma and Louise (2017)

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Soundtracks

Lie In Your Eye
(credited as "Lie in My Eye")
Written and Performed by Paul Linford

User Reviews

Some People Never Change, Others Repress

In Los Angeles, when the bartender Suzette (Goldie Hawn) is fired from the club where she works, she decides to travel to Phoenix and visit her friend and also former groupie of twenty years ago Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) to borrow some money. While on the road, she runs out of gas and without any money, she accepts to bring the stressed loser writer Harry Plummer (Geoffrey Rush) and in return he would pay for the gasoline. When she meets her old friend, now Mrs. Lavinia Kingsley, she finds a very conservative and traditional housewife, married with the successful lawyer Raymond Kingsley (Robin Thomas) and mother of two complicated teenagers, Hanna and Ginger. Their interaction along a few days improves their lives.

"The Banger Sisters" has a good premise, that some people never change while others repress their feelings, but it is badly executed. The idea of how people change their behavior when raise a family could be deeply developed based on the past of the two "banger sisters", but the way the forgotten and unknown past of Vinnie is disclosed to her family is absolute shallow and without any purpose. I believe Bob Dolman was lazy or afraid to shift to a profound drama, and preferred the easiest and most superficial way to make the confrontation between two exaggerated sides: the one who lives in the past and the other that does not use her experience to improve her relationship with her daughters and husband. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Doidas Demais" ("Too Crazies")