The Banger Sisters

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DVD; Widescreen; NTSC

For a movie focused on the lives of two adult women who were groupies during the golden age of classic rock, it's the modern artists on the Banger Sisters soundtrack that steal the show. Buckcherry snarl and spit their way through spirited punk romp "Crushed"; Black Crowes vocalist Chris Robinson pours his heart out on a soulful piano-brushed 1970s rock emulation; and Ben Folds's Jackson Browne cover bounces with warm pop nimbleness. Vintage rockers fare rather well, too, especially ex-Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin's prog rock-meets-ethereal world music Animals cover, Peter Frampton's guitar acrobatics, and Steppenwolf's gritty hip-shaking. The only real eyesore here is Tommy Lee's abysmal take on David Bowie's "Fame," a stuttering rap-aggro-electro amalgamation that sounds like a robot fallin! g apart at the seams. Otherwise, for fans of classic rock--or modern spins on the originals--the Banger Sisters soundtrack won't disappoint. --Annie Zaleski SUZETTE (HAWN) AND LAVINIA (SARANDON) ARE A PAIR OF FORMER GROUPIES WHO ROCKED THE WORLDS OF EVERY LATE 60'S MUSIC LEGEND WITH A GUITAR AND A Y CHROMOSONE. TWO DECADES LATER THEIR TWO WORLDS COLLIDE. ENSUING BIG BANG IS HILARIOUS.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 u! nder 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