Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Cate, a record company executive who comes up with the idea to revive an eighties one hit wonder pop group, The Suburbans, which basically imploded after suffering from the excesses that followed over night superstardom. This is met with reluctance from some of the members, but the more outspoken members drive what they see is a chance to see what they missed out on, believing that they can be successful. Donal Lardner Ward plays Danny, the quasi leader and lead guitarist who sees this as a sign relating his true path in life, especially since all of his post band ventures have failed. Tony Guma is Rory, the overweight balding drummer who sees this as an opportunity to cash in on the band to make some much needed money, as his poor financial decisions cost him all the money he made some twenty years prior of their one hit. Craig Beirko plays Mitch, the good looking lead singer who has never given up on being a rock star, and craves the fame they once had. Rounding out the band is the bass player Gil, played by Wil Farrell, who basically goes along with the rest of the guys, not really needing the money or fame, as he's finically secure, but doesn't want to let the guys down.

There were some funny moments in the movie, especially when old tensions and habits within the band begin to surface, but the humor is tempered with the relationship problems between Danny and Grace (Amy Brennemen). This tended to dilute the comedic elements and almost work against the overall humorous tone of the movie.

In one really, funny scene we see these middle-aged men try to recapture the look they once had, including hairstyles and wardrobe. Think Flock of Seagulls twenty years later and you'll get the picture.

I felt Will Farrell wasn't used as well as he could have been. He's extremely funny, and could have brought a lot more to the movie with a better part. Jennifer Love Hewitt certainly brightens up the movie, adding lots of eye candy, playing the driven record company executive with an ulterior motive for seeing The Suburbans reunite. I have to admit, I had a really hard time picturing Hewitt playing someone who remembers a band from 1981, especially when I check her bio and find out she was born in 1979.

The Suburbans started out on a strong note, but tended to trip on the subplots. A fun movie overall, but don't expect too much, and you won't be disappointed.

Look for appearances by Robert Loggia, Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas as a club owner, Ben Stiller and Jerry Stiller as record executives, Kurt Loder as himself, and Bridget Wilson as Rory's girlfriend.


More Jennifer Love Hewitt and more fun than I expected   May 10, 2003
Daniel Jolley (Shelby, North Carolina USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The Suburbans was both better and worse than I expected it to be. Admittedly, I only bought this movie because of Jennifer Love Hewitt, but it turned out to be a pretty entertaining show. I was under the impression that JLH had only a small part in this film, so I was quite pleased to see more of her than I expected. This was something of an unusual role for her, and she definitely looked rather exotic at times, but she is always gorgeous. In her role as a record company executive, she sets out to resurrect a one-hit wonder group from the early 1980s called The Suburbans. The band members are an interesting bunch of guys, all but one having forgotten their dreams of musical success and dealing with very real issues of families, commitments, and relationships. I expected to get a lot of laughs from Will Ferrell, but he is actually sort of the straight man of the group. This is not to say that laughs are not to be found here, though, as several scenes came out very funny indeed. A few recognizable notables who put in appearances include Amy Brennaman, Robert Loggia, and both generations of the incredibly annoying Stillers. The comedy begins to dissipate in the later stages as the big resurrection mania fails to live up to the hype and a couple of the guys start making the same kind of bad decisions they had made the first time around. Each man has to ask himself whether The Suburbans are better off left in the past, and in so doing they begin to make some of the grown-up decisions about life that they have been putting off for fifteen years. The only problem I have with the movie (besides the fact that Jennifer Love Hewitt isn't in every single scene) is the ending, which left at least two large questions unanswered in my mind. Still, though, this movie played rather well as a whole, convincing me that, while it is no diamond in the rough, it is certainly no throwaway film to be forgotten either.