'It was easier to simply make the movie than to keep explaining why they're such a great band' — filmmaker Edgar Wright and Ron and Russell Mael on 'The Sparks Brothers,' the brilliant, definitive doc on the 50-years-and-counting cult duo Sparks.
a new documentary that opens on June 18th and dives into how the Southern California siblings Ron and Russell Mael formed a band in the late Sixties and proceeded to work their way through a variety of musical genres: arena rock, prog-rock, proto-punk, electronic dance music, New Wave, “alternative” rock, and classical-influenced chamber pop.
What’s remained constant throughout the Maels’ career has been a wicked sense of humor, a talent for blending off-kilter lyrics with catchy melodies, and the brothers’ personas. Russell is the cute one who crooned about Mickey Mouse onin a sparkly tracksuit; Ron is the deadpan one who danced an old-timey jitterbug to it in a tie. Otherwise, they’re hard to pin down. Wright says he was always being asked by friends and colleagues which album is the best introduction to the ever-morphing band.
A friendship ensued, and Wright eventually pitched a film that would tie together all their different eras. “We’d been approached before about doing a documentary before,” Russell says. “Only we’re not a band that looks back a lot. And we wanted to keep that sense of mystery surrounding us.” “But Edgar wanted to treat all of the musical periods with equality,” Ron adds. “And that thing of ‘Oh, they’re theband’ — to put the humor into context with the songwriting. We jumped [at] doing it with him.”connects these disparate versions of the Sparks sound.
“I wanted to make a documentary that had the irreverence and seriousness of the band,” he says. “You’re approaching the subject with sincerity and appreciation, but also poking at the format.” Wright pauses. “Like a Sparks song, basically.”
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