The Suburbans

Teen music sensations The Suburbans (Donal Lardner Ward, Tony Guma, Craig Bierko and Will Ferrell) are seemingly a shoe-in to become the next big thing, but after a few marketing missteps the band finds their records consigned to the 'has' bin. Now, 18 years later, the one-hit wonders briefly take the stage again to play that one hit at a band member's wedding, catching the ear of a young record exec (Jennifer Love Hewitt) who ends up convincing them to regroup and "ride the nostalgia wave." But the bandmates quickly find both the magic and their old audience hard to recapture, and before long internal squabbles, as well as the demands of their families and friends, threaten to pull them apart, again. A middling effort by writer-director-star Donal Lardner Ward (who is a far better director than writer), the fine ensemble cast and good tech credits are for the most part wasted on material that is neither dramatic nor comic (a cameo appearance by Flock of Seagulls turns out to be one of the film's highlights). If the storyline appeals to you, the whole thing was done far better a year earlier in the 1998 UK release Still Crazy (VL-7/99). Not recommended. (S. C. Sickles)