The Sparks Brothers

This was superbly made, very funny, and surprisingly uplifting.

I've watched a lot of music documentaries that have interesting content but pretty boring presentation, and so to have one come along that's this entertaining and this well edited was a real treat.

Sparks have had an incredibly interesting history to the point where you could use stock standard documentary techniques and still make something watchable, but Wright's passion for this duo really shines through and makes for a documentary that will make any viewer see the weird, funny and captivating appeal of Sparks.

It makes me feel like I've got a lot of catching up to do, as I'd only listened to four Sparks albums before watching this, and there are at least several more covered here that I feel I should check out.

Only complaint I'd have is that it gets a little long winded near the end, with an epilogue that stretches on forever, with so many points where you think it's about to finish but doesn't. It's like the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ending but for documentaries.

Maybe Wright just didn't want to finish making this movie about a band he clearly loves, so for that I can't blame him too much.

Ron and Russell Mael are Californian brothers who created the longtime eccentric band, Sparks. They have made 25 albums with differing loyal fans over the years. I have no idea who these guys are. This may as well be a mockumentary. With all the old footage, it's obvious that they are real. I just wish for one trans Atlantic hit that I can grab onto. They seem to be bigger in Britain. That probably explains it. It's part of the pop culture that I missed back in the day. They also seem to be big in L. A. and Germany for awhile. This is nostalgic by association. I didn't actually listen to them, but they influence so many others that means so much to me. Part of the issue may be their satirical sensibilities and that they're always changing their sound. It does allow for an interesting retrospective in that these guys are so unusual.

At 2h 21m this is a long documentary but while some reviews I've seen say it's too long I thought it flew by and really enjoyed the whole film. I've never heard any of Sparks music but loved hearing their songs and learning about their 50 year history, it's amazing seeing who they've influenced and how they've grown and evolved. When it comes to criticisms I will say that after a while the documentary does begin to feel somewhat one note, always just talking heads telling us of how much they love the band and how they've been influenced followed by a bit of music, while this is disrupted sometimes by short animations it does feel very similar, there's also never really much criticism of the band, while I do love the music from what I've heard I'd still appreciate seeing differing views on the subject. To conclude The Sparks Brothers is an entertaining and interesting documentary with a few flaws that ends up as a high 7/10.

"How can a band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and overlooked all at the same time?" Edgar Wright (director)

Although the cult art-pop band Sparks has been playing its idiosyncratic music for fifty years, you may never have heard about the two brothers or their music. Be prepared to remember them forever after seeing Edgar Wright's loving and comprehensive documentary covering their zany years of performance.

The two boys, Ron and Russ Mael, were born in California with the creative influence of the Beach Boys but a definite affinity for Brit bad boys like the Beatles and The Stones and touches of Queen. In fact, Ron and Russell Mael may have been a major influence on British synthpop.

Wright skillfully shows their emerging theatrics of Ron's culturally-sharp lyrics and Russell's stagey falsetto gyrations evocative of Mick and Freddie. They have their career careening from high on the charts to being absent from them, but never stopping the two from inventing themselves over and over again.

If you don't believe me, listen to persuasive talking heads who know what they're talking about, like Duran Duran, Weird Al Yankovic, Patton Oswalt, Sonic Youth, et al. However, just listen to their sometimes-inscrutable lyrics and watch Russell gyrate around the implacable Ron, and you will experience music in all its forms, wild and expressive.

As Ringo was alleged to say while watching Top of the Pops, "Marc Bolan is on the tele playing a song with Adolph Hitler" (Ron wore a Hitler-like stache much of the time). In the course of their half century, they went from glam-rock to orchestral art-pop to their take on Sgt Pepper and everything in between. It's exhausting just to try to catalogue their phases.

In Theaters.

"All pop music is rearranged Sparks. And that's the truth."

The Sparks Brothers is a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks. I had no idea who Sparks were going in. I knew by the end of the documentary I would have some reason to care about them, but it's hard watching a documentary about something you don't have much interest in- especially if it's about a person or people. Not that I didn't want to see this, but if I had no intentions to seek out this band before, I think it would be harder to get me to watch it. The one thing that actually got me to watch this is the fact that it was at Sundance earlier this year, and Edgar Wright was in the directors chair for this. Edgar Wright has yet to make a movie that is just decent. Everything he makes is fun and full of energy, and his first documentary is no exception. The Sparks Brothers is such a blast. It's the ultimate crowd pleasing music doc. Wright manages to incorporate his distinct style with every scene. He and Sparks were born to collaborate together. What we learn about the Sparks brothers is exactly what you'd want to know knowing Wright's previous films. They are a strange group and have a mysterious sort of quality. Watching their story unravel is just good fun.

The way the documentary is setup is sort of different from the rest. As usual, there's interviews and fun animations throughout like most. What's strange is how everything progresses. Usually we get stories of people trying to make it big, but they face challenges and defeats that make them grow as a group. The Sparks Brothers just focuses on their success. Sometimes things didn't always work out, but there's always a comeback and those defeats are still celebrated today. The film is always on a high and soars all the way through. I think the runtime could've been cut down a bit. With it running close to two and a half hours, it's pretty long for a doc. It never feels slow and the runtime doesn't feel long at all. But by the end, I looked at the clock surprised at the length. I think it's a bold move to make it this long and cover every album and a surplus of their songs. The Sparks Brothers is probably the most fun you'll have with any documentary. I left extremely glad to know just about everything there is to know about each Sparks album and how it all came to be. Also, you'll probably catch a few songs every now and then that you didn't realize was by them. If you get the chance to see this, I would highly recommend!