What could have been a very lame Monkees-meet-Spinal Tap-meet-Backstreet insider joke turned out to be one of the better music industry parodies with a decent soundtrack, thanks to the witty and melodic writing of Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn and Nigel Dick.
2GE+HER, the film intelligently mocks the multi-million dollar pop industry - and in particular, the creature that is the boy band. We watch as manager Bob Buss (played by Alan Blumenfeld) gets dissed when his successful boy band Whoa! turns their perfectly waxed backs on him. Buss is off to show them up and form his own more talented band. On his journey, he comes across his heartthrob Jerry O'Keefe (Evan Farmer), his shy boy Chad Linus (Noah Bastian), big brother Doug Linus (Kevin Farley), and wild child Mickey Parke (Alex Solowitz). Right before it's time to start rehearsing and get the group's act and image together, he finds his illusive missing piece-the cute little one that all the chicks want to mother. He finds this element in the form of the terminally ill Q.T. McKnight, played to pathetic, sickly perfection by Michael Cuccione.
The amazing thing is that these five guys really sing and dance-that is, of course, if you can call what Farley does dancing.On the soundtrack, Q.T.'s Solo track "Visualize" was actually written by Cuccione and Russell Marsland. A song penned by one of the members on the band's debut CD? Did *NSYNC have that much power on their first CD?
The best description of the ten-song soundtrack (including two remixes) is a guilty pleasure. Who can listen to "Say It (Don't Spray It)" and not giggle while they sing along? You have to do the little dance that goes along with "U + Me = Us" when it comes on. It is totally corny, but something about these jokey songs is really catchy and you can't fault yourself for liking them.
The kids who can tear themselves away from Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and 98?long enough to listen to the soundtrack will probably enjoy it, but they might not get some of the jokes. "Rub One Out," some kind of homage to loneliness-inspired masturbation, will most likely go over their heads. "Before We Say Goodby" sounds like a song 98 degrees could have done, but it is hard to imagine them singing, "But in case we break up/Can I still have sex with you?"
Will people remember who 2Ge+ther is in a few years? Doubtful. Will songs like "U + Me = Us" be remembered as fondly as "I Want It That Way" or "Bye Bye Bye" after this boy band phenomenon has gone the way of the Rubike Cube? Probably not. As a clever, witty movie, however, 2Ge+her has done its job. "
