Product Details

• Actors: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Bierko, Brenneman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 8, 2000
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F4V6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,794 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sort of a cross between That Thing You Do! and Still Crazy, The Suburbans follows a one-hit '80s new-wave band (played by Craig Bierko, Will Ferrell, and cowriters Tony Guma and Donal Lardner Ward) who pull themselves together to play their hit at a wedding and then find themselves pursued by a young record executive (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who wants to revive their careers. The band is enthusiastic until they discover that their rock career is now becoming a a combination of muckraking interviews and intrusive, round-the-clock videotaping à la VH1's Behind the Music. The movie's strength is that it avoids easy targets and focuses on personalities, which provides a lot of room for some surprising offbeat bits--cameos by Ben and Jerry Stiller are particularly funny. Hewitt is sweet and wears many cute, skimpy outfits. Amy Brenneman, as Ward's girlfriend, is excellent and makes the movie more than an entertainment pastiche. Ward, who also directed, would probably have been better off not casting himself in the lead, but he sustains a puppy-doggish appeal. Bierko, Ferrell, and Guma all acquit themselves well. And perhaps most importantly, their hit song, which is played several times, is actually an enjoyable slice of power pop with a bit of a Mersey-beat flavor. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars THE SUBURBANS should never have been made, December 19, 1999

By	Clint Morris (Avondale Heights, VIC Australia) - See all my reviews

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ben Stiller...big stars, this film could only be great, yeah?...wrong. A heap of talent wasted their time doing this piece of junk. It is a 70 min something comedy about a group of 80's rockers who decide to reform, and then decide not too. Love Hewitt is the sexy band manager, but what a useless role. Ben and Jerry Stiller are record execs, and filling out the band are Will Ferrel (A Night at the Roxbury), Craig Bierko (The Thirteenth Floor) and a couple of other familiar faces. Amy Brennemann (Casper, Daylight) plays a girlfriend of one of the band members. I dunno why Im wasting my time writing any more about this film, it's an unfunny waste of time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ever wonder what happened to your favorite 80's band?, October 6, 2003

By	cookieman108 "cookieman108®" (Inside the jar...) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Suburbans (DVD)

While not the biting satirical look at an attempt to revive a one hit wonder eighties band I was looking for, this movie did have its' moments.

Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Cate, a record company executive who comes up with the idea to revive an eighties one hit wonder pop group, The Suburbans, which basically imploded after suffering from the excesses that followed over night superstardom. This is met with reluctance from some of the members, but the more outspoken members drive what they see is a chance to see what they missed out on, believing that they can be successful. Donal Lardner Ward plays Danny, the quasi leader and lead guitarist who sees this as a sign relating his true path in life, especially since all of his post band ventures have failed. Tony Guma is Rory, the overweight balding drummer who sees this as an opportunity to cash in on the band to make some much needed money, as his poor financial decisions cost him all the money he made some twenty years prior of their one hit. Craig Beirko plays Mitch, the good looking lead singer who has never given up on being a rock star, and craves the fame they once had. Rounding out the band is the bass player Gil, played by Wil Farrell, who basically goes along with the rest of the guys, not really needing the money or fame, as he's finically secure, but doesn't want to let the guys down.

There were some funny moments in the movie, especially when old tensions and habits within the band begin to surface, but the humor is tempered with the relationship problems between Danny and Grace (Amy Brennemen). This tended to dilute the comedic elements and almost work against the overall humorous tone of the movie.

In one really, funny scene we see these middle-aged men try to recapture the look they once had, including hairstyles and wardrobe. Think Flock of Seagulls twenty years later and you'll get the picture.

I felt Will Farrell wasn't used as well as he could have been. He's extremely funny, and could have brought a lot more to the movie with a better part. Jennifer Love Hewitt certainly brightens up the movie, adding lots of eye candy, playing the driven record company executive with an ulterior motive for seeing The Suburbans reunite. I have to admit, I had a really hard time picturing Hewitt playing someone who remembers a band from 1981, especially when I check her bio and find out she was born in 1979.

The Suburbans started out on a strong note, but tended to trip on the subplots. A fun movie overall, but don't expect too much, and you won't be disappointed.

Look for appearances by Robert Loggia, Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas as a club owner, Ben Stiller and Jerry Stiller as record executives, Kurt Loder as himself, and Bridget Wilson as Rory's girlfriend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Funny and Entertaining, October 3, 2008

By	Todd and In Charge (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Suburbans (DVD)

I do agree with the other reviewers that there was a lot more that could have been done with the premise, but for my money this was a light, enjoyable romp through the music biz, with an amazingly beautiful JLoveH, a funny-as-always Will Ferrell, and a hilarious turn by the father/son Stiller team.

Still, the anchor in all of this is Amy Brenneman, who turns in a deft, mature performance that keeps the film rolling over the sometimes spotty script and direction. Let me say this, too -- by the end of the movie you will love the Suburbans' one-hit song.