The Banger Sisters

from Film Forum, 09/26/02

Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon star in The Banger Sisters, a new comedy from Bob Dolman (writer of Far and Away and Willow) costarring Geoffrey Rush. The ladies are not actually sisters; they're longtime friends who strive to escape the drudgery of their lives by regaining the rebellious spirit they once shared as rock-and-roll groupies.

Christian media critics loudly refute the film. Anne Navarro (Catholic News) says this "disagreeable comedy … sugarcoats promiscuity. It is a superficial story which … relies on the foolish premise that only through living it up is one truly liberated. Both Hawn and Sarandon are competent actresses, but their talents cannot compensate for the distasteful story."

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) remarks, "The simplistic and misleading message … is that it is more important to be true to who we are than to conform to societal expectations. That logic, if carried to its extreme, fails. Our actions and behavior do have an impact on others and to ignore that reality is to live selfishly and irresponsibly."

Eric Rice (Movieguide) says, "The movie portrays as 'cute' that which has ripped apart marriages and caused unfathomable scars and heartache to families."

Some mainstream critics also highlighted the story's flawed ideas. David Denby (The New Yorker) writes, "The premise … strikes me as, well, bananas. I'm not sure how any intelligent person can achieve a breakthrough by being true to her past as a groupie. Are these movies really stories about women's lives, or are they some sort of corkscrewed male fantasy?"