Band Aid (2017)

A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.

Director:

Zoe Lister-Jones

Writer:

Zoe Lister-Jones

Stars:

Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Fred Armisen

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoe Lister-Jones	...	Anna
Adam Pally	...	Ben
Susie Essman	...	Shirley
Retta	...	Carol
Hannah Simone	...	Grace
Ravi Patel	...	Bobby
Brooklyn Decker	...	Candice
Angelique Cabral	...	Lauren
Majandra Delfino	...	Maria
Nelson Franklin	...	Ned
Kailash Banerjee Sukhadia	...	Theo
Vivien Lyra Blair	...	Isis
Nolan Malcolm Fink	...	Jimmy
Nilu Gacek	...	Nilu
Dylan Magenheim	...	Dylan

Storyline

A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.

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Plot Keywords:

husband wife relationship | rock band | garage band | guitar | drummer | 

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Taglines:

Misery loves accompaniment

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, drug use and some nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tagline "Misery loves accompaniment" is a play on the phrase "Misery loves company."

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Quotes

Shirley: You know what? Let me give you a little bit of advice about women. All right? And I know what I'm talking about. Okay, so, hormonally, we are just completely different creatures. We might as well be completely different species. You see us as overly emotional, and that's true. We're constantly juggling a lot of feelings and anxieties. We have difficulty separating ourselves from our problems. Do you understand? Like we're constantly looking for the connective tissue to find a solution, we ...
[...]

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Connections

Features Super Mario Bros. (1985)

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Soundtracks

We Find The Fight
Music by Zoe Lister-Jones & Kyle Forester
Lyrics by Zoe Lister-Jones
Performed by Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally

User Reviews

"What if we turned our fights into songs?"

"Band Aid" (2017 release; 93 min.) brings the story of Anna and Ben. As the movie opens, Anna and Ben, a married couple, are arguing over the dishes that are left sitting in the kitchen sink. "You are quite the dish Nazi", Ben screams to Anna, who does not take it well. "I come from a long line of Holocaust survivors!", she retorts. When they go to Anna's best friend's party celebrating her one year old's birthday, Anna and Ben pick up the kids' instruments, singing an impromptu song, to their delight, "What if we turned our fights into songs?", Anna wonders. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first and foremost, this movie is a labor of love for Zoe Lister-Jones, who not only stars (as Anna), but wrote, produced and directed as well. She is omni-present, and that is a good thing. Here she brings a look at married life and how to combat when a marriage seems stuck, if not worse. (It's only much later in the movie why the marriage seems stuck in the first place.) Lister-Jones, who has released music before, also co-wrote the songs that are featured in the movie. At first, the movie feels like "can music save this marriage" type movie, but that is less and less the case as we get deeper into the movie. And is this the first movie where the main character (Anna) makes a living as an Uber driver? Besides Lister-Jones, there are several other wonderful acting performances, including Adam Pally as Ben, and Fred Armisen as their neighbor (and eventual band mate and drummer). Keep an eye out for a blink-it-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance of director Deryl Wein (Zoe's real-life husband). Last but not least, I have no idea what the movie's title "Band Aid" means. Is it a reference to the 1980s all-star charity group that recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas"? Your guess is as good as mine. Bottom line: "Band Aid" is a heart-felt indie romance-drama with/by/from a stellar Zoe Lister-Jones.

"Band Aid" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (3 people, including myself), much to my surprise and disappointment. Maybe this is the type of movie that will find a second life once it's available on Amazon Instant Video and eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Band Aid" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Band Aid

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,013, 4 June 2017

Gross USA:

$248,370

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$248,370

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mister Lister Films, QC Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1