The Banger Sisters | 
| Director: Bob Dolman
Actors: Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Geoffrey Rush, Erika Christensen, Robin Thomas
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $0.50
You Save: $9.48 (95%)
New (48) Used (170) Collectible (5) from $0.50
Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 12681
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Genre: 0
Rating: R (Restricted)
ESRB: Teen
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D2006573D
UPC: 024543065739
EAN: 0024543065739
ASIN: B00005JLNZ
Theatrical Release Date: 2002
Release Date: January 28, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 04/15/2008
Amazon.com
For thinly scripted fluff, The Banger Sisters sure is a lot of fun. With Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon as former groupies now settling into their fifties, this predictable comedy gets a zesty boost of vitality and unsentimental nostalgia. Trouble is, Lavinia (or Vinnie, played by Sarandon) is an uptight Phoenix housewife with a lawyer husband, two spoiled daughters, and a calendar full of charity benefits. Free-spirited Suzette (Hawn) remained true to their past as the notorious rocker-lovin' Banger Sisters, and when she visits Vinnie after decades apart, it's not long before Vinnie rediscovers the lively self she'd buried under her drably expensive wardrobe. It's conspicuously formulaic, with Geoffrey Rush as another buttoned-up character liberated by Suzette's fun-loving wisdom. And yet, as Goldie channels the "Penny Lane" vibe that her daughter, Kate Hudson, brought to Almost Famous, this light and laugh-worthy movie reminds us that it's never too late to indulge a bit of rock & roll abandon. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 77 more reviews...
 movies for housewives April 14, 2009
Mary E. Vaccaro (Pittsburgh, Pa USa)
This movie is great, we get so wrapped up in being a Mrs, a mom and others that we lose sense of ourselves.
 A Guilty Pleasure or Just a Weak Film? You Decide. August 10, 2008
Pat Shand (Freeport, NY USA)
At best, "The Banger Sisters" is a guilty pleasure. A really guilty one. At worst, it's a weak film with a truly questionable message about family and acceptance. The actors and actresses all deliver passable performances, but the script, in this instance, is what is lacking. The beginning of the movie had promise, and I felt that we were truly supposed to sympathize with Suzette (Goldie Hawn) who has spent her entire adulthood pining for her rockstar-groupie past, which is truly sad. She was a sympathetic character with, what I thought at first, had a few layers... and she was interesting to watch. But then, when I discovered that writer/director Bob Dolman wanted the message to be that Suzette is RIGHT to live in the past and that when her former-group, current stuck-up mother Vinnie (Suzan Sarandon) should dress up in ill fitting pants and join her, I began to feel a bit queasy.
I think Dolman messed up a bit in scripting this movie. He could have written a cute little film that showed Suzette teaching Vinnie how to cut loose, and at the same time, Vinnie could teach Suzette some responsibility. But instead, Vinnie became a Suzette clone fifteen minutes into hanging out with her, and began to act like a... well, a groupie. And when her husband and daughters react to this instant and drastic change, Dolman seemingly wants us to sympathize with VINNIE, not the family. So this somewhat promising concept deteriorated into a script with weak, weak writing with absolutely no understanding of how people interact with each other and what makes a relationship healthy.
This movie could have been entertaining. Perhaps if it were told through Harry Plummer's (Geoffrey Rush) point of view, it could have been an inspiring flick with a somewhat stable message. Because Harry had a nice little subplot that was truly engaging, and basically saved this movie from becoming a total dud by the end. Because truly, in the end, the only sympathetic characters in the whole film are Harry and Vinnie's poor husband.
I'm not the kind of guy who really looks for a message in a film. Moral ambiguity is fine with me, and makes for some superbly written movies. However, if you're going to shove a message in your audience's face like this movie did, make sure it isn't a terrible one.
4/10
Absolutely Delightful! April 15, 2008
S. G. (IA)
I caught this one by pure chance with the DVD - a sanitized version with commercials, no less! I still found this film absolutely delightful, and laughed out loud on several occasions! Not deep, by any means, but Susan and Goldie are perfectly cast in this roles. I absolutely loved watching Vinnie's (Susan) transformation to be true to herself and pass this on to her daughters. While the drugs and sex references - even in the 'clean' version - aren't acceptable for the younger audiences, I'd highly recommend this film for a 'Girl's Night Out' DVD with your best friends and a pitcher of marguaritas!
BOB DOLMAN, OPUS 1 February 22, 2008
wdanthemanw (Geneva, Switzerland)
** 2002. Written and directed by Bob Dolman. Golden Globe nomination for Goldie Hawn. Twenty years after, two friends remember their debauched youth as groupies. If Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon's performances may please you if you're a fan, like me, of these actresses, you'll be alas horrified by the vacuity of the screenplay of this film.
 Groovy Movie October 10, 2006
Robin L. McLaughlin (Seattle, Wa.)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I love this film. I tend to rate movies by how well they accomplish what they set out to do. Schindler's List is trying to do something much different than Fried Green Tomatoes, and they need to be rated on their own merits. In this case, The Banger Sisters deftly accomplishes what it's meant to do, and that's to provide a heart-warming, funny movie about friendship, with a bit of nostalgia thrown in for flavor.
I hadn't even heard of The Banger Sisters until I saw it for sale on the used rack at the local video store and picked it up because it had Susan Sarandon in it, a long time favorite of mine. Because I didn't know anything about it, I had zero expectations as to plot or movie quality, which sometimes helps. I ended up being totally charmed and have watched it several times and will surely watch it several more.
The movie has a lot to say about how people change, or don't change, how a person can lose her sense of self, how raising children has some inherent hypocrisy involved, and about how important friends are to our identities. But these are all said subtly and just add a bit of background depth to what is namely a light comedy about old friends.
The performances by Hawn and Sarandon are outstanding. As is the performance by Geoffry Rush. The three characters are all uniquely different, and yet somehow the three of them manage to make a wonderful and crazily believable whole. The fourth best performance in the movie is turned in by the fantastic soundtrack.
So maybe while not a movie for deep thinkers or for elite cinema buffs, it's a wonderful way to spend an hour and a half for those who love movies about the bonds of friendship, who like a bit of nostalgia for the great days of rock and roll, and who appreciate a suprise, side-splittingly funny scene or turn of phrase now and then.
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