The Sparks Brothers

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.

Edgar Wright always does great work, and when it was announced that he would be at the helm of a Sparks documentary, I was ecstatic.

I was of course excited to see the movie, but more than that I was excited that a big name director would be exposing the world and some of my fellow Americans (hopefully) to Sparks.

The band is not easy to find, and it is absolutely criminal. I myself only discovered the band 2 or so years ago and fell in love immediately, listening to the then 24 studio albums over a course of about a month for hours a day. I implore you to do the same, I really don't think you'll regret it.

The documentary really was true to Sparks sensibilities too, as Edgar promised he would try to do. The artists were not the center of attention, but rather the art was the center of attention. The dedication to their craft, along with an immense amount of wit and talent is what has sustained them as a band for 50 years.

The two are just so easily lovable guys, and immense talents with a one of a kind sound. As a fan, it made me happy to see the two in the limelight where they should be, taking a quick break to reflect after 50 years of innovating in the field. Here's to 200 more Sparks albums!

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.

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.

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.