REVIEW
All That, and Then Some Edgar Wright’s Sparks documentary shines a clinical light on the band’s cult appeal and innovative music BY SETH SOMMERFELD
T
here are many advantages to being an acclaimed and creative director like Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). You can pick your projects and pen your own scripts, you have your choice of big name actors, and the pay is nice. But an underrated perk? Free rein when it comes to music documentaries. Martin Scorsese has been the most notable auteur to take advantage of this with both concert films (The Band’s The Last Waltz) and more traditional documentaries about Bob Dylan and George Harrison. But rather than document the career of legendary rock stars, Wright has flexed his creative muscle to craft a love letter to a band you’ve probably never heard: Sparks. And that’s sort of the point. The Sparks Brothers is Wright’s somewhat exhaustive (coming in at 2 hours and 20 minutes) and somewhat convincing argument that Sparks belongs in the rock pantheon. Without giving away the film’s beats, here’s the SparkNotes on Sparks: The California brother duo of Ronnie and Russell Mael have been making music since 1967. Russell is the pretty boy singer, Ron serves as the songwriter, lyricist, and keyboardist. Also, Ron sports a rather iconic Charlie Chaplin-esque mustache. The band has put out 25 albums and gone through an unbelievable array of sonic changes: pop rock, dance pop, hard rock, electronic rock (all the way back in the ’70s), and a thousand other shades. All the while having a distinct comedic element that’s made them both stand out and kept them from consistent success. Sparks has been a European chart-topper and L.A.’s hottest band, but also irrelevant and back and gone again more times than seems possible. Basically, they’re a fun-loving pop rock cockroach that seems unkillable. To help prove his Sparks case, Wright uses a load of
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creative storytelling aids and rolls out an all-star cast to white, making the actual footage of Sparks’ career seem gush about the group: Beck, Flea, Duran Duran, New ever the more vibrant, colorful and fun. Order, Depeche Mode, Thurston Moore, and loads But for a movie about such an out-there group and more. Heck, even Weird Al and Patton Oswalt show up. imbued with so many creative touches, it also ends up Along the way the talking heads shower praise on Sparks being a startlingly clinical presentation. It’s an entirely ranging from calling them one of the most influential chronological telling of the Mael bros story, from youth groups ever to “the best British group to ever come out to band formation to all 25 albums in order. While it of America” to “they would make really good Muppets.” makes things easy to follow, the Sparks journey is so long The brothers Mael are compelling enough to keep that the commitment to a straightforward timeline almost audiences unfamiliar with Sparks invested in Wright’s feels oppressively mundane. film. Ron in particular is captivating. The clips of him Wright effectively builds a mystique around the band sternly side-eyeing the camera during TV performances while also highlighting the unwavering creative integrity never seem to get old even as one is bombarded with and working-man ethos that has kept them afloat for six them. There’s a natural subtle but undeniable comedic decades. But in keeping the band’s mystique alive — and charisma that he possesses as Sparks’ chief creative force. covering its timeline so exhaustively — there’s never Wright does his best to make Sparks’ story feel like space for an emotional connection to be forged. At one an absolute blast. The group prides itself on point an interviewee says, “[Sparks] were top-notch art direction, so the archival footage THE SPARKS a band you could look up on Wikipedia from TV performances, music videos, tours and know nothing.” That weirdly can deBROTHERS and just hanging around sings, but that’s just scribe The Sparks Brothers, too. By the end, Rated R the tip of the iceberg. There’s a positively viewers could ace a test on the band’s arc, Directed by Edgar Wright delightful bevy of wildly different animation Starring Ron Mael, Russell Mael but still know almost nothing about them styles to illustrate sequences described where as people. It’s a shockingly careerist film. no footage exists: claymation, collage stop aniEverything viewed through the lens of mation, drawn doodles, and more. It helps bring Wright’s the band, so we never get to know Ron and Russell on comedic touch to the project, as does his hilariously literany sort of human level. No personal lives. No emotional al archival footage usage. At times he pulls NASA launch highs or lows. No darkness, no light. Just this album was footage when someone’s talking about Sparks taking off, great and this record was a flop (repeating this over and over a diver belly flopping when chatting about an unsuccessand over with an ironically Wikipedia-like rhythm). For ful record, or showing New Year’s Rocking Eve broadcast a film that serves as Wright’s love letter to Sparks, the footage again and again to show the passage of time. ingredient it’s lacking most is somehow heart. When discussing some of the biggest Sparks songs – like Its shortcomings may hold it back from successfully “Slowboat” or “Girl from Germany” – the director will vaulting Sparks to rock and roll immortality, but the jourplace a text card with a dictionary definition of “boat” or ney’s still fun. The Sparks Brothers throws viewers in the “German girl.” The comedic touches are so amusing you deep waters of an unheralded creative force of a band. might miss Wright’s biggest direction choice: All the talkAnd seeing that their guests are already drenched, Wright ing head interviews are presented in a grayish black and and Sparks decide to throw a pool party. n
