The Suburbans

Starring:Cleo Adell, Craig Bierko, Amy Brenneman, Brian Chlebowski, Dick Clark, Antonio Fargas, Will Ferrell, Lisa Gerstein, Tony Guma, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Emily Kuroda, David LaChapelle, Kurt Loder, Robert Loggia, Perrey Reeves, Rich Scobie, Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, Bridgette Wilson
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews:

Suprisingly Re-watchable.......2005-06-01

This is a fantastic bit of 'hang-over Sunday' cinema. The Suburbans is extremely re-watchable, due entirely to charismatic performances by Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, the underrated Craig Bierko, and even Jennifer Love Hewitt. This would have been a hit had the director not cast himself in the lead, but even he contributes a decent performance. This movie masters the art of combining goofy male performances with sexy, yet comically apt female performances by Amy Brenneman and Bridgette Wilson. Rent the Suburbans. It's one movie that will make you wonder why it was never a hit.

Ever wonder what happened to your favorite 80's band?.......2003-10-06

While not the biting satirical look at an attempt to revive a one hit wonder eighties band I was looking for, this movie did have its' moments.

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.......2003-05-10

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.

Okay, this was better than I thought!!.......2002-08-27

This was a good movie, I don't know why so many people don't like it! Hewitt was awesome once again!! Like she always is!!! the Stillers were as funny as [heck]! The rest of the movie kind of dragged but was interesting enough!! The plot: A young girl, beautiful too(Jennifer Love Hewitt) tries to get The Suburbans back into the music business after 18 years since they put out an album! good movie, see it!! JLove is the best!! Ben Stiller still can be funny in movies, and as for Ferrel, I'll skip!! Good movie!!

It's not Funny, but there's something else about it.......2001-08-22

First of all, take in mind that I'm a HUGE JLH fan, meaning I've loved almost every single movie and show she's done (except Trojan War. Now THAT was a bad movie).

But anyways, yes, I will say it, this movie was not that funny. I mean it's about as funny as being forced to do calculus for about 24 hours straight. So, if you're looking for a laugh, try Can't Hardly Wait.

However, they're are all sorts of underlying meanings in this movie. They're kind of hard to recognize, but they ARE there. And of course, Jennifer Love Hewitt is in it. And Will Ferrel. You gotta like Will Ferrel.

Basically, in the end, this movie ... in comedy, but for one of those meaningful things that when you sit down, you have to watch until the end, it's ... good. Unfortunately, this WAS supposed to be a comedy, so I give it a star for Love, another for the rest of the cast, and the last for the story. Would've done better, if it actually was supposed to be a meaningful movie, but it wasn't.

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