Sweet 'N' Low

It isn't easy growing old in the land of youth and beauty. It's even harder if you're a rock-and-roller who hasn't had a hit in decades, or a sexy leading lady now being offered parts as Christina Ricci's mother. "Sugar Town," an agreeably scruffy L.A. satire co-written and directed by Allison Anders and Kurt Voss, is filled with sharp, funny snapshots of the hustlers, has-beens, recovering junkies and Topanga Canyon earth mothers on the fringes of the Hollywood music biz.

The movie may lack visual dazzle--it was shot fast and cheap--but it knows its way around town. There's the 50-something Billy Idol type (Michael Des Barres) who has a phobia about sleeping with women his own age, and Beverly D'Angelo as the foul-mouthed heiress he needs to satisfy to secure backing for his new record. There's the neurotic New Agey production designer (Ally Sheedy) whose dating life is a disaster, and the ruthless wannabe rock star (Jade Gordon) who'll rip off anyone to get ahead. There's the fading rocker (John Taylor, of Duran Duran fame) facing a paternity suit, the wild child named Nirvana who may be his son, the sober guitarist (John Doe) trying to remain faithful to his wife on the road and a half dozen other deftly sketched show-biz desperadoes who make this slight but tangy sleeper such an unpretentious delight.