There goes the neighborhood when The Suburbans, the height of cool back in the day, are rediscovered by an overly eager fan turned high-powered music executive (Jennifer Love Hewitt) determined to stage the comeback of her favorite '80s band. Suddenly, four regular guys (Craig Bierko, Will Ferrell, Tony Guma and Donald Lardner Ward) find themselves faced with the possibility of recapturing the 15 minutes of fame they lost 18 years ago. But when their fantasy of rock stardom is replaced with the reality of humiliating MTV interviews, an ill-fated video and an impossible lack of talent, The Suburbans must decide whether to go down quietly as one-hit wonders, or squeeze the retro trend till it squeaks!
(34 votes)
2.
Sort of a cross between That Thing You Do! and Still Crazy, The Suburbans follows a one-hit '80s new-wave band (played by Craig Bierko, Will Ferrell, and cowriters Tony Guma and Donal Lardner Ward) who pull themselves together to play their hit at a wedding and then find themselves pursued by a young record executive (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who wants to revive their careers. The band is enthusiastic until they discover that their rock career is now becoming a a combination of muckraking interviews and intrusive, round-the-clock videotaping à la VH1's Behind the Music. The movie's strength is that it avoids easy targets and focuses on personalities, which provides a lot of room for some surprising offbeat bits--cameos by Ben and Jerry Stiller are particularly funny. Hewitt is sweet and wears many cute, skimpy outfits. Amy Brenneman, as Ward's girlfriend, is excellent and makes the movie more than an entertainment pastiche. Ward, who also directed, would probably have been better off not casting himself in the lead, but he sustains a puppy-doggish appeal. Bierko, Ferrell, and Guma all acquit themselves well. And perhaps most importantly, their hit song, which is played several times, is actually an enjoyable slice of power pop with a bit of a Mersey-beat flavor. --Bret Fetzer
(32 votes)
3.
The disgruntled 30-somethings who were members of a one hit wonder band from the 1980s come together to play at a friend's wedding, never expecting to be pushed into a comeback tour by a young talent scout (Jennifer Love-Hewitt). Filmmaker Donal Lardner Ward (MY LIFE'S IN TURNAROUND) is the grand-nephew of Academy Award winning screenwriter and Hollywood Ten member Ring Lardner Jr. (M*A*S*H).
(33 votes)
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