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SUGAR TOWN Send This Review to a Friend
There are various ways of portraying losers. Allison Anders and Kurt Voss, who teamed as writers and directors of "Sugar Town," take the gentle, respectful approach. Their entertaining depiction of aging rock musicians trying to make a comeback in the Los Angeles milieu affords ample opportunity for satire of the music business as well as characters on the fringe. "Sugar Town" is immensely enjoyable precisely because its humor is so easygoing and it displays genuine affection for its losers rather than looking down on them.
Anders is particularly gifted at approaching life in an offbeat manner, as evidenced by her likable earlier work "Gas Food Lodging." Here she casts real rock musicians John Taylor (formerly with Duran Duran), Michael Des Barres (formerly with Power Station) and Martin Kemp (formerly with Spandau Ballet) as musicians trying to find a company to produce a new album. They are funny and pitiful as the rejections pile up, save for one possibility involving a wealthy potential patron (Beverly D'Aneglo) who'll come across with money only if the band member she fancies will come across with what she'd like. He prefers young groupies, such as the cute one who disillusions him when she asks for his autograph--for her mother. D'Angelo fuses a no-nonsense attitude with brazen cut-to-the-chase sexuality.
You have to sympathize with a character like Liz (Ally Sheedy), a film production designer looking for Mr. Right, who dates a guy only to find that instead of a good night kiss he presents her with his glossy photos in the hope she'll land him an acting job. To make matters worse Gwen (Jade Gordon), the young woman who cleans for her while hungering for stardom, steals her jewelry.
Liz's friend Eva (Rosanna Arquette) has to reconcile herself to now being offered parts such as Christina Ricci's mother. Eva's life is turned upside down when a supposed ex-bedmate of Clive, her rocker husband, blithely drops off a surly boy allegedly fathered by Clive on one of his tours. Vincent Berry is excellent as the lad, who soon shows his sweeter side.
So it goes. There are other interesting and amusing characters in this collection of fringe folk, and the filmmakers extract much humor from them as we follow their daily struggles. As you might expect from a film so tied to the music scene, there's a rich selection of appropriate songs, plus an original score by Larry Klein, who also is part of the cast. A USA Films release.
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