Whether or not you’re aware of it, Sparks likely had a hand in something you’re fond of. This is a band that has been in the background of almost every art form across the last 50 years. Growing up in the ’60s, Los Angeles brothers Ron and Russell got by on a heavy diet of popcorn matinees and pop music until the spotlight of school talent shows illuminated their way on a musical journey that has so far spawned 25 studio albums.
It should come as no surprise to those familiar with the mind behind such comedies as BABY DRIVER that Edgar Wright’s debut documentary, THE SPARKS BROTHERS, is an absolute delight. Wright’s spirited vision brings five decades of invention to life through nutty animations and interviews with a who’s who of cool, and by digging deeply into the band’s rich, career-spanning archival. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, this charming love letter to innovation, music, and two rebel artists just might make this the biggest year yet for the brothers named Sparks. (Synopsis from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival)
“The previously uninitiated may well feel like they’ve known Sparks all along — or at least that they should have….The film makes a persuasive case that there’s a universe running on a very close parallel to ours where Sparks are the biggest band in the world.” —Jessica Kiang, Variety “Funny and alive at every possible turn…. This is a film that loves its subjects and only someone with a biological revulsion to catchy pop or grand rock theatrics will dislike the film.” —Jordan Hoffman, Guardian “A beat-for-beat celebration of the band’s deathless creative odyssey…. Most of all, Wright’s documentary is a gift to the Sparks brothers themselves — something these baby boomers have wanted ever since they were film-obsessed little kids in Westside Los Angeles — and we get to see them open it right before our eyes.” —David Ehrlich, IndieWire
