The Sparks Brothers

Greetings again from the darkness. Over the past 5 decades, the number of bands that have broken up is, well, almost all of them. For two brothers to write songs and perform together over that span, and still be at it in their 70's is remarkable. Sparks is made up of Ron Mael and younger brother Russell. They've published 25 albums with 300 songs, and performed thousands of concerts. Somehow they still like each other, respect each other, and work well together. As unusual as their music is and as strange as their stage show can be, it seems only fitting that their cinematic profile would be directed by Edgar Wright, who is best known for SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2002) and BABY DRIVER (2017). This is his first documentary.

Mr. Wright establishes the necessary unconventional start by having Sparks perform the opening credits. Not a song to open the film, but rather they actually perform the opening credits. We are then introduced to Ron and Russell, and we get some childhood family photos and an explanation about how their artist father taking them to the movies would later influence their work. And other than learning that Ron has a massive snow globe collection, that's the end of the insight into their personal lives. Normally that would be a mistake, but there is nothing normal about Sparks.

Instead of personal profiles, director Wright opts for a chronological discography - a walk through the band's timeline of recordings. Each step is punctuated with insight from fellow musicians or celebrities, and clips of the band performing their music from each era. The interviews are filmed in black & white so that the color of the stage performances really pop on screen. Some of those interviewed include producer Todd Rundgren, Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pamela Des Barres (a musician and, umm, certain other skills), and other musicians who played with Sparks over the years.

Often thought of as a novelty act, Sparks music and shows are filled with humor, but are not a joke. The two brothers have stayed committed to the music and the performances. To cover an extended gap in their career, director Wright utilizes 6 years of "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve", but more impactful is finding out that they worked on the music every day during those 6 years. The Mael brothers define persistence. The brothers' desire to break into film music fizzled a couple of times due to Jacques Tati and Tim Burton, but they do appear in the 1977 thriller ROLLERCOASTER.

Songwriter Ron is the brother with the Hitler/Chaplin mustache, while singer Russell was the matinee idol in the early years. They are referred to as the "Best British group to come out of America", and their musical influence can be traced to many more popular bands. A collaboration with Franz Ferdinand pushed their creativity, but it's an outlandish 21 shows in a row, each featuring a different album performed live that may best define their love of music and performance (and stamina). So while Mr. Wright offers zip in regards to their personal lives, the abundance of live performance clips and the quite funny Sparks "Facts" over the closing credits make this a documentary worth watching (even with its 140 minute run time).

In theaters June 18, 2021.

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.

I've been a fan of Sparks for over 10 years now and just went I thought I knew everything there was to know about them, Edgar Wright beautifully illustrates their 5 decade career span. It's an excellent glimpse into their creative process with so much unseen footage and storytelling from Ron and Russell.

Great job to all involved.

"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!

"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.