From 1971 to 2020, the duo of Russell and Ron Mael known largely as Sparks have released 23 studio albums with another album set to come out in 2021 have amassed a varying degree of success and acclaim throughout their career while continuously reinventing themselves to follow their own muse. The film isn’t just a love letter to the band but also dissecting the mystique of these two brothers from Pacific Palisades, California who are considered icons in Britain, parts of Europe, Latin America, and Japan yet are a cult band in America. Director Edgar Wright, who is a life-long fan, doesn’t just tell the story of the band’s origins and their rollercoaster career but also what keeps them going and why they never stuck to one certain sound in favor of just doing other things.
Featuring interviews with the Mael brothers plus some of the musicians that played with them from bassists Ian Hampton, Sal Maida, and Leslie Bohem, guitarists Earle Mankey and Dean Menta, drummers Hilly Boy Michaels, Harley Feinstein, Steve Nistor, Christi Haydon, and Tammy Glover, and producers such as Tony Visconti, Giorgio Moroder, and Muff Winwood as well as many others. Among them include musicians Beck, Alex Karpanos of Franz Ferdinand, Vince Clarke and Andy Bell of Erasure, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor of Duran Duran, Roddy Bottum of Faith No More, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, producer, Jack Antonoff, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, “Weird” Al Yankovic, legendary rock groupie Pamela des Barres, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of New Order, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Martyn Ware of the Human League/Heaven 17, and Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s also talk about the band’s influence with Wiedlin having collaborated with the group in the early 80s as well as having a brief romance with Russell.
Yet, musicians and collaborators aren’t just those who have been influenced by Sparks as actors and comedians in Jason Schwartzman, Mike Myers, Patton Oswalt, Mark Gatiss, Adam Buxton, Fred Armisen, April Richardson, and Scott Aukerman as well as writer Neil Gaiman, TV show host Jonathan Ross, and TV show runners Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino all talk about their love for Sparks. The interviews with these individuals doesn’t just showcase the band’s reach and influence on their respective arts but also what their music means so much to them as Wright does go into brief tidbits of the band’s respective studio albums and how they’ve evolved but also go into where some of that music might’ve come from. The Mael brothers do talk about their childhood that included the death of their father Meyer when they were young as the film is dedicated to their parents including their mother Miriam whom they both felt was the best mom they ever had as they were around when rock n’ roll had just arrived and had seen the Beatles live twice in their lifetime.
Throughout the group’s evolution as they would be part of one phenomenon yet the two often would prefer to follow their own muse as they had no interest in being part of a trend or do something commercial as the band would also admit to having a contentious relationship with the music industry. Most notably in the six-year gap between 1988’s Interior Design and 1994’s Gratuitous Sax and Senseless Violins where the band had no record deal yet they continued to make music. The film also go into discussions into their failed film collaborations with Jacques Tati in the 1970s and Tim Burton in the early 1990s as the former in Confusion with Tati was mean to be a film with Tati’s Monsieur Hulot character set in a futuristic society. The latter in an adaptation of the manga Mai, the Psychic Girl into a musical with songs by Sparks and directed by Burton but it fell apart.
Wright’s approach to the interviews are straightforward with the Maels and many others are shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Jake Polonsky with a backdrop by art director Ves Philippi. Wright and Polonsky would also shoot footage of some of the band’s shows in 2018 and 2019 including shows in Europe and Latin America as it would be shot in color while much of the material Wright would use with editors Paul Trewartha and Tobias Zaldua as well as sound editor Jamie Allen would be from many interviews and TV appearances. Even as Wright interviews a couple of fans about those interviews where one of them is revealed to be in a concert footage as she hugged Ron when she was only 14. Another thing that makes the film more compelling is the usage of hand-drawn animation as well as stop-motion animation from Joseph Wallace that featured a legendary story of John Lennon talking on the phone with Ringo Starr about discovering Sparks as they’re voiced respectively by longtime Wright collaborators in Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Wright also goes into the band’s work ritual as Russell has a home studio where the duo have their own routine with Ron often taking walks on a park and the two would go to a coffee shop in Los Angeles in the afternoon and return to work. Many of the people who are interviewed also discuss why Sparks has continued to endure and many say that they never take their music seriously nor do the Mael brothers take themselves seriously right up to the end of the film including the post-credits. It all play into who these two men are and why they continue to be interesting and refusing to compromise their idea of what art is. Even as they’ve finally ventured into the world of film with the upcoming Annette from director Leos Carax.
The Sparks Brothers is a spectacular film from Edgar Wright. It’s a film that fans of the group will enjoy as they see how appreciated they are from many corners in the world of art while those new to the group will get an understanding of why they’re so revered despite their refusal to become commercial and stick to one sound. It is also a film that doesn’t play by the rules that captures the spirits of who Ron and Russell Mael are and isn’t afraid to be odd or irreverent. In the end, The Sparks Brothers is a sensational film from Edgar Wright.
Related: Annette (2021 film)
Edgar Wright Films: (A Fistful of Fingers) – Shaun of the Dead - Hot Fuzz - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - The World's End - Baby Driver - Last Night in Soho
© thevoid99 2021
Based on the short story by Neil Gaiman, How to Talk to Girls at Parties is the story of a teenage boy in the late 1970s who goes to party where he befriends a mysterious young woman who is revealed to be an alien. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell and screenplay by Mitchell and Philippa Goslett, the film is a genre-bending film that explores first love as well as identity during the age of punk in Great Britain. Starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, Matt Lucas, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman as Queen Boadicea. How to Talk to Girls at Parties is an exhilarating and whimsical film from John Cameron Mitchell.
Set in 1977 Britain during the age of punk, the film revolves around a young man who goes to a party where he meets a young woman unaware that she might be an alien as he introduces her to the world of punk and love. It’s a film that takes a simple premise of first love and identity as it is told in a stylistic manner that is set during the summer of 1977 where the Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee is happening as a young teen in Enn (Alex Sharp) is a young artist trying to contribute to the world of punk by creating a fanzine with a couple of his friends in Vic (Abraham Lewis) and John (Ethan Lawrence). The film’s screenplay by John Cameron Mitchell and Philippa Goslett does play into the tropes of the coming-of-age storyline as well as the ideas of first line but there’s also some odd sci-fi moments as it relates to the young woman Enn meets in Zan (Elle Fanning) who is part of a colony of strange people as she is frustrated with their ideals until she meets Enn and his friends at the party that her leaders are hosting.
Zan’s encounter with humanity such as meeting Enn’s mother (Joanna Scanlan), dancing to soul music, eating pancakes, and other things do have elements of humor and curiosity. Notably as Zan also finds herself talking to her master PT Waldo (Tom Brooke) who would inhabit the body of someone near her in warning her about what she’s embarking. Still, Zan wants to learn about so many things as she turns to the punk leader Queen Boadicea as she is kind of this wild maternal figure for all of the young punks where she would encourage Zan to express her own feelings with Enn’s help. This would eventually lead to a conflict with the group of people Zan was with as well as those she met including Enn whom she has fallen for. It would play into the idea of individuality and humanity with Zan in the middle of this conflict as there are those that want to maintain this idea of perfection and being with these ideals also carrying some flaws in the same way that Enn’s own ideals have their own flaws.
Mitchell’s direction is stylish in the way he portrays 1977 Great Britain as well as setting it in the suburbs rather than the cities as much of it is shot on various locations in England in towns like Sheffield and suburban areas in London. While Mitchell would include some wide shots of the locations as well as some moments inside the clubs and the house where Zan and the people she’s with early in the film live in. The film opens with these strange visuals of six symbols that would represent a different colony of these mysterious visitors as Zan is part of a colony whose color is yellow and it then cuts to Enn waking up. Much of Mitchell’s direction is straightforward in terms of compositions in the way he frames the actors in a close-up or in a medium shot while he would infuse stylistic slanted shots in some scenes as well as stylistic shots that play into the frenzy of the punk rock scene.
While the meshing of sci-fi ideas and this grounded sense of drama in the punk rock world isn’t totally successful in some parts of the film. Mitchell does play into these ideals and their flaws as it relates to the third act where the punks and the aliens collide in this approach to absurd humor. Even as it would include a key musical moment in the film where Zan and Enn would sing during the second act as it play into not just the former finding aspects of herself but also the both of them connecting in ways that is indescribable in a surreal sequence. It would lead to moments in the third act as it would play into Enn’s future and how his encounter with Zan and the world of aliens and punk rock would inspire him. Overall, Mitchell creates a wild yet endearing film about a young punk who falls for a mysterious young girl in 1977 Britain.
Cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco does excellent work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of low-key and naturalistic colors for many of the daytime exteriors and interiors in the scenes at Enn’s home and in the many surroundings through a more stylish look in the lighting for the scenes in the punk club and at the home of the aliens. Editor Brian A. Kates does brilliant work with the usage of rhythmic cuts to play into the drama as well as some stylish slow-motion cuts for scenes to play into the sense of joy in some of the characters. Production designer Helen Scott, with set decorator Hannah Spice and art director Caroline Barclay, does fantastic work with the look of the punk club that Queen Boadicea lives and runs as well as the odd apartment and rooms where the aliens live at. Costume designer Sandy Powell does amazing work with the costumes from the clothes that the different aliens wear in their bright colors to the look of the punks to play into how outrageous both groups are.
Hair/makeup designer Sian Grigg does incredible work with the look of the aliens in their hairstyles and makeup as well as the look of Queen Boadicea and some of the punks as it’s a highlight of the film. Special effects supervisor Scott MacIntyre and visual effects supervisor John Bair do terrific work with the visual effects as it play into the film’s opening sequence as well as the musical performance that include this weird yet entrancing sequence that play into Enn and Zan’s love for each other. Sound editors Benjamin Cheah and Gregg Swiatlowski do superb work with the sound in the way music sounds live as well as the way objects sounds including some of the sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Nico Muhly and Jamie Stewart is wonderful for its mixture of somber ambient music pieces along with low-key electric-folk music to play into some of the film’s dramatic moments while music supervisor Michael Hill provides a fun soundtrack of the music that was playing in the times from acts/artists such as the Damned, the Silvertones, Dub Specialist, the Dischords, A.C. Newman, the Velvet Underground, and Jamie Stewart as well as some original songs co-written by John Cameron Mitchell.
The casting by Douglas Aibel, Henry Russell Bergstein, Emily Jacobs, and Karen Lindsay-Stewart is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Lara Peake as a six-fingered young girl named Wainswain, Jed Shardlow as a PT Stella male, Nansi Nsue as a member of the same colony that Zan is in, Jumayn Hunter as a DJ who plays music at Queen Boadicea’s home, Joey Ansah as PT named Bob, Stephen Campbell Moore as a record executive at a show early in the film, Alice Sanders as a pink-haired punk girl named Spinning Alice, and Edward Petherbridge as the alien cult leader PT First as this cult leader who is eager for all of his followers and other leaders to follow everything he believes in.
Joanna Scanlan is terrific as Enn’s mother as a kind woman who helps Zan out with the ideas of womanhood while Tom Brooke is superb as Zan’s mentor PT Waldo as an alien who is concerned about Zan’s departure and her encounter with humanity. Abraham Lewis and Ethan Lawrence are fantastic in their respective roles as Vic and John as Enn’s friends who both have different encounter with the aliens as the former becomes sexually confused while the latter is in awe of the music he hears. Matt Lucas is excellent as PT Wain as a colony leader who wants Zan out of the group believing she is a threat to what she has known as he tries to stir up trouble. Ruth Wilson is brilliant as PT Stella as a colony leader that is known for sexual stimulation as she is a being that wants to seduce humans to great pleasure.
Nicole Kidman is great in her role as Queen Boadicea as a punk leader who is trying to run a club and seek out the next big thing where she isn’t fond of a lot of people but is fascinated by Zan who she sees as someone unique as it’s Kidman at her best. Alex Sharp is remarkable as Enn as a young punk who aspires to be an artist as he befriends Zan and introduce her to punk while dealing with his own issues relating to his father and his own self-being. Finally, there’s Elle Fanning in an incredible performance as Zan as a young woman who arrives on Earth as an American teenager who would discover the world of punk and the ideas of humanity as it’s a performance filled with a sense of energy, natural comic timing, and being fierce once she starts to sing like a punk as it’s one of Fanning’s finest performances.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties is a marvelous film from John Cameron Mitchell that feature top-notch performances from Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, and Nicole Kidman. Along with its offbeat premise, killer music soundtrack, and dazzling visuals, it’s a film that doesn’t play by the rules despite a few bumps in trying to mesh different genres. In the end, How to Talk to Girls at Parties is a remarkable film from John Cameron Mitchell.
John Cameron Mitchell Films: Hedwig & the Angry Inch - Shortbus - Rabbit Hole - The Auteurs #66: John Cameron Mitchell
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, The People vs. George Lucas is a documentary of sorts that explores the life and career of George Lucas as well as some of the controversies he created in revising and re-editing some of his films including the Star Wars franchise that he created. While it is presented in a comical manner, the film plays into Lucas’ desire to make changes into his work and how fans of the franchise are upset and such. The result is a fascinating and very entertaining documentary about the world of geek culture and their love/hate relationship towards George Lucas.
In the summer of 1977 amidst a troubling period in the world, Star Wars came out and the world was transfixed by what George Lucas has created where it became a pop culture phenomenon that spawned two sequels and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of merchandising. Over the years, Star Wars and Indiana Jones had created a fandom that was unstoppable until the late 1990s when Lucas made controversial revisions of the original trilogy and then followed-up with a new trilogy of prequels that angered fans. The film plays into this love-hate relationship between George Lucas and the people who went to see his films and bought his merchandise. Especially as it traces into why he was beloved by the geeks and then feel betrayed with what he’s done as it led to this very contentious and complicated relationship.
Through interview with fans, filmmakers, and notable figures of geek culture including novelist Neil Gaiman, Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz, Chris Gore, and several others. The film explores not just Lucas’ own life and early on and the events that led him to make Star Wars but also reasons into why he didn’t make more films as a director following the success of the film in 1977. Much of it would involve creating Lucasfilms and other things as in a cruel sense of irony where the man who rebelled against corporations and studios for tinkering with his films suddenly became the head of his own corporation and would revise his own films. During this time in the 1980s and 1990s came a culture of fan-made films that served as a tribute to Lucas which played into this growing sense of excitement when it was announced that Lucas was re-releasing the original trilogy in a new special edition in theaters.
With the aid of editor/visual effects composite artist Chad Herschberger, Alexandre O. Philippe explores the many fan-made films that was made as it showcased a culture where some filmmakers learned their craft out of these tributes. Even as it includes a strange version of Misery in which George Lucas is being trapped by a woman who forces him to make the prequels in the way that she wants to see them as a lot of them are comical. With the aid of cinematographer Robert Muratore and sound recordist Keiron Wolfson, the interviews are very engaging as some of it is funny where fans express their disdain over the changes and other things including Jar-Jar Binks which include footage from the British show Spaced where Simon Pegg’s character reveals his hatred for that character.
The film’s music by Jon Hegel would add to the humor which is very upbeat and bouncy as it would play into that strange world of fandom. Especially as Philippe would go around the world to meet these fans where many ponder what will happen when Star Wars will be out of Lucas’ hands which would eventually happen just a few years after this film’s release.
The People vs. George Lucas is a sensational film from Alexandre O. Philippe. It’s a documentary that doesn’t just explore the world of Star Wars fandom and its influence on pop culture but also in its love-hate relationship with its creators. It’s a film that is very entertaining while not afraid to take shots at itself for its own obsession. In the end, The People vs. George Lucas is a hilarious film from Alexandre O. Philippe.
Star Wars Films: Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back - Return of the Jedi - The Phantom Menace - Attack of the Clones - Revenge of the Sith - The Force Awakens - The Last Jedi - The Rise of Skywalker
Related: The Star Wars Holiday Special - Caravan of Courage
- The Battle for Endor - The Clone Wars - Fanboys
Star Wars Anthology Films: Rogue One - Solo: A Star Wars Story - (Untitled Star Wars Anthology Film)
George Lucas Films: THX 1138 - (American Graffiti)
© thevoid99 2015
