Banger Sisters, The

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Sarandon's motherly sexiness is appealing, but it's Hawn, in a warm and deep performance as the hapless but free-spirited Suzette, who walks away with the movie.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A highly entertaining and refreshingly nonjudgmental movie

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

What The Banger Sisters offers in place of an eloquent statement is the charm of two actresses at the top of their game in flashy roles and a smart script that's decidedly more coarse than sentimental.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Forget the awful trailer that makes the movie look like chalk screeching on a blackboard. The Banger Sisters is sheer fun, and a great showcase for Hawn.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

A lot of fun, with an undeniable energy sparked by two actresses in their 50s working at the peak of their powers. Juicy roles for older women? Let the revolution begin.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Pretty thin, but you grin while you're watching it.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Some numbers: Hawn and Sarandon (both 56) are arguably the first women in American popular culture to be pushing 60 and sexy. Hard to believe, but when Joan Crawford and Bette Davis were comparable ages (59 and 54), they were the frightening gargoyles of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Adult fans of good thesping in the service of a lightweight but thoroughly entertaining story should bask in the antics.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Hawn mows down everything in her path with a giggle. It's great fun to watch her just eat up this movie.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Hawn always appears to be acting with a vengeance, but Sarandon just breathes her part.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Likable, cheerfully off-color comedy.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

The sexual frankness is refreshing. As Suzette and Lavinia banter, their dialogue often suggests how "Sex and the City" might sound 20 years hence.

Slate David Edelstein

A too-pat but very funny comedy.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Watching Sarandon and Hawn sashay through their paces is its own reward.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Gets off to a bumpy start and runs into trouble along the way, but once it gets going, it's surprisingly warm and engaging.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The conflict between Hawn, who prizes her freedom, and Sarandon, who values her family, is pretty rich; it reminded me of the friendship between Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft in "The Turning Point."

New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky

It has its moments, but they never add up to a record you'd want to play again and again in its entirety.

Time Richard Schickel

Dolman's comedy isn't exactly a barrel of emotional surprises, but its great cast underachieves admirably. There are worse ways to pass 94 minutes.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Because Sarandon is such a good actress, she makes the movie watchable, and there are a couple of laughs to be had.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Could have taken a witty scalpel to baby-boomer posturings. But Dolman, whose instrument of choice is the rubber mallet of smarm, just isn't the man for the job -- he ends up enshrining the very hypocrisy that should be dissected.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The Banger Sisters stands as proof that no movie is so bad it can't be redeemed by a single stellar performance. That performance is by Susan Sarandon.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Terrific performers doing what they're often forced to do, overcoming sorely flawed material.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A practiced piece of Hollywood hokum, way too calculated and contrived, especially for a film that nominally celebrates the chaos and creativity of the 1960s.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

A flimsy film that's too clean and corn pone to be anything near rock 'n' roll.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Certainly begins with its heart in the right place. But the movie eventually snaps under the strain of its plot contrivances and its need to reassure.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

The resultant film is all surface and plush, with nary a hard edge or demanding note. Despite the movie's well-intentioned heart, its head is out to lunch, neglecting its responsibility to provide these powerhouse actresses with a script half as smart or compelling as they.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

For the most part, it's both sitcomishly predictable and cloying in its attempts to be poignant.

Entertainment Weekly Ken Tucker

Really, the sole favor Dolman does the plucky Hawn is to light her rear end so that its continued gloriousness can be appreciated.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The best way to kill the spirit of the sixties is to sanitize it with preachiness, which is what happens here. That rock-cock collection might as well be a box of baseball cards.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The Banger Sisters so frequently features Hawn running around in revealing attire, tossing instructions at exhausted people that I'm inclined to think of it as a workout video.

The New Yorker David Denby

Painful to sit through, because you want to see someone like Paul Thomas Anderson take hold of the character and the actress and start again from the beginning. Bob Dolman understands Suzette, but the rest of the movie is composed of ham-handedly obvious scenes. [23 Sept 2002, p. 98]

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

For a few brief moments, it's the bravest work this Hollywood gargoyle (Hawn) has ever done.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

From opening to closing credits, there isn't a single genuine moment -- as phony as a dime bag of oregano.