IF THERE is such a thing as growing old gracefully, then somebody forget to tell Suzette (Goldie Hawn) and Lavinia (Susan Sarandon), the middle-aged double-act who cackle and cavort through Bob Dolman's comical road movie.

They bump and grind younger rivals off the dance floor of a packed nightclub, drink until they drop and, in one unforgettable sequence, pore over Polaroids of ageing rockers' genitalia.

It's Women Behaving Badly in sensible footwear.

Some 20 years after the heady memory of her groupie days, Suzette is still working behind the bar of a hip west Hollywood club where she once had sex with Jim Morrison in the toilet.

Abruptly fired from her job, Suzette seizes a chance to rekindle the memory of the good old days and heads for Phoenix to reunite with best friend Lavinia. En route, her car breaks down and Suzette secures a lift from neurotic screenwriter Harry (Geoffrey Rush), who is heading south to kill his father.

The pair form a fragile bond and Harry waits by Suzette's side as she tries to make contact with her gal pal. Unfortunately, Lavinia has left behind her past to become a wealthy and well-respected socialite in Phoenix with a lawyer husband (Robin Thomas) and two spoiled teenager daughters (Erika Christensen, Eva Amurri).

Lavinia doesn't want to revisit her wild child days and ruin her image with the 'ladies that lunch'. However, Suzette isn't exactly the model of discretion and the truth will out.

The Banger Sisters is a wickedly foul-mouthed, rambunctious romp that proves women may be the fairer sex, but they are rarely the meekest.

Hawn and Sarandon are hilarious as the kindred spirits who learn, in their own quirky way, that the only thing that endures (apart from Suzette's silicon implants) is sisterly solidarity.

There's a lovely chemistry between the lead actresses, with Hawn as bubbly as ever in a role that could have been written for her. Rush offers droll support as a man wrestling with the demons of his past, who sees salvation in the short skirts and open arms of fun-loving Suzette.

The plot is flimsy and some of the gags fall a little flat, but like its two lead characters, The Banger Sisters is hard to resist.