New York Minute (2004)

Music plays a major role in New York Minute, resonating throughout the story, and director Dennie Gordon made it a priority to bring music supervisor John Houlihan, known for his work on the sonically-driven Charlie’s Angels and Austin Powers film series, aboard to collaborate on the film’s high powered soundtrack.

Gordon and Houlihan were looking for a high-energy, alternative rock band to perform a song in the film’s pivotal music video/concert sequence, in which Roxy, Jane and relentless wannabe cop Max Lomax are literally swept away by the music and the rowdy crowd.

Enter Simple Plan, the Canadian punk pop band whose Platinum debut album, No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls, produced the hit singles “I’d Do Anything” and “Addicted.” (The band was also nominated as Best New Artist at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for their video for “Addicted.”) Fans of Simple Plan’s music, Mary-Kate and Ashley invited the group to make their feature film debut in New York Minute.

“They’re fun guys and they have a big following, so we thought it would be a cool idea to have them in the movie,” Mary-Kate says.

“The band has a lot of energy and their presence brings another great facet to the film,” Ashley concurs. The Simple Plan music video/concert sequence was shot over three days on a construction site in the center of Toronto’s financial district, where surrounding skyscrapers resemble a New York City-esque skyline. The band performed the song “Vacation,” an unreleased track from the recording sessions that produced their No Pads album.

The song underscores the strained relationship between Roxy and Jane. “‘Vacation’ is a song about someone who starts off being nice and fun to hang out with, and then becomes the most annoying person in the world,” reveals lead singer Pierre Bouvier. “Basically, it’s about someone you wouldn’t mind not seeing ever again.”

The band took a brief break from touring to film the raucous sequence. “It was rad to be in the movie because we got to do what we love the most: perform and have fun on stage,” Bouvier says. “It was awesome to be part of such a big production. There were cameras everywhere, all shooting at the same time. It was way more impressive than a normal music video set.”

Simple Plan was only too happy to spend some of their limited time off filming with Mary-Kate and Ashley. “It was awesome to meet Mary-Kate and Ashley,” Bouvier grins. “They’re like cultural icons. They were super nice to us.”

In addition to Simple Plan’s rollicking onscreen performance, “Vacation” is featured on the film’s soundtrack, along with the Sly & Robbie produced single “Curbside Prophet” from Jason Mraz, a smash remix of Elvis Presley’s “Rubberneckin’ (Oakenfold Mix),” a hard-rocking “Please Don’t Tease” from The Donnas and legendary New York rockers Blondie with “One Way or Another.” A soundtrack highlight to be sure is the cover of David Bowie’s classic hit “Suffragette City,” performed by the band Wakefield featuring Mary-Kate on drums and backing vocals.

---