Sugar Town

The has-beens collide with the no-hopers in this winning survey of LA's music biz fringe dwellers. Casting makes all the difference when you've got the remnants of former idols Duran Duran (Taylor), Spandau Ballet (Kemp) and The Power Station (Des Barres) on display, all of them utterly credible as a putative supergroup slightly befuddled that the record company didn't hear a single on their rejected latest demo. The episodic construction allows us to dip into these lives almost at random, and if the film doesn't really build, it floats on an even keel through sharp observations and engaging performances. Former Brat Packer Sheedy convinces as an uptight production designer adrift in the singles scene; Arquette, playing an ex-scream queen uneasy at the transition to more 'mature' roles, must have wondered whether the writing wasn't getting too close to the bone when she moans at having to play Christina Ricci's mother 'because she's not even an ingénue anymore!' Manipulative wannabe chanteuse Gordon doesn't quite convey the same charisma, but maybe that's the point. Slight, yet enjoyable.