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The documentary features lengthy interviews with Ron and Russell Mael, along with short interviews with musicians, record producers who collaborated with the band, previous members of the group who worked with the Maels in the various Sparks line-ups from the early 1970s until the early 2020s, as well as a number of fans. The documentary also includes several short animation sequences to reproduce apocryphal anecdotes between musicians with the participation of comedians and frequent Wright collaborators Simon Pegg (as the voice of John Lennon) and Nick Frost (as the voice of Ringo Starr).
In June 2018, it was announced Wright would direct an untitled documentary film revolving around the band Sparks, with MRC Non-Fiction and Complete Fiction Pictures producing the film.
Principal photography began in May 2018, with Jake Polonsky as cinematographer, beginning with covering the band's concert at the O2 Forum Kentish Town. In April 2020, Wright announced that the film was "nearly finished".
The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 30, 2021. Shortly after, Focus Features acquired worldwide rights to the film, with its parent Universal Pictures distributing internationally. The film also screened at South by Southwest in March 2021, and was theatrically released in North America on June 18, 2021, by Focus Features. It was released in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2021.
Box office
In the United States, the film made $107,225 on its opening Friday and $89,652 on its second weekend. It was released internationally in territories including the United Kingdom ($334,184), Australia ($45,404), France ($80,267), Iceland ($477), Portugal ($346) and New Zealand ($9,499).
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Their albums may be cult favorites, but this Edgar Wright-directed documentary offers an introduction to The Sparks Brothers that has something for everyone." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Theatrical release poster