FAQ

In preparation for the film's premiere, Showtime sent out a "stash box" filled with promotional materials which included a soundtrack CD. Although the discs were never released to the general public, many copies found their way onto eBay. The songs on this disc were not mixed for the CD; they were taken from the surround-sound mixes. Additionally, there's more than a few anomalies. Sound effects are heard on a few tracks, mainly blipping after the songs, but "Little Mary Sunshine" contains all of the extra (whipping) sounds from the film. Sally's second verse in "Jimmy Takes a Hit" ("Come on, Jimmy, come on, Jimmy, suck it down for Sally") has inexplicably been omitted. Furthermore, several songs are truncated to remove orchestral spots where dialog was heard in the film; this is most evident in "Five and Dime," "Murder" and "The Truth." The only piece of the score that appears on the disc is "Opening Fanfare," which is underscored with John Kassir's maniacal laughter.

In 2008, the soundtrack for the film was officially released by Ghostlight Records double-packaged with the then out-of-print soundtrack for the original stage play. This version includes several bonus karaoke tracks. Most of the songs differ from the versions released on the Showtime promo and similarly the only piece of the film's score is the opening Fanfare.

The promo CD soundtrack released with the Showtime "stash box" press kit and the official Ghostight Records release vastly differ. For starters, the Showtime version features a generic, one-sided paper cover with the title, the slogan "The Feel-Good Hit of the Year" and a few pot leaves; the Ghostlight disc features photos of the cast on the cover and includes the soundtrack for the L.A. stage production as well as bonus karaoke tracks and a double-sided booklet (the bulk of which is devoted to the film, the flip side devoted to the play) filled with lyrics, liner notes and photos. Technically speaking, the Ghostlight version has a superior sound mix (the Showtime disc was improperly mixed from the film's surround-sound tracks), but it includes a lot of unnecessary dialogue.

Here's a song-by-song breakdown of the differences between the two CDs:

Romeo & Juliet - The Ghostlight Records release features introductory dialogue.

The Stuff - The Ghostlight Records version features sound effects from the film (breaking milk bottles and a barking dog) immediately following the line "When Jack gets stoned and rapes me." The Showtime promo does not include these sound effects and as a result runs a few seconds shorter.

Down at the Ol' Five & Dime - The Ghostlight Records version features a few extra riffs before Alan Cummings' "Sometimes men would come to call" verse, but a brief orchestral interlude immediately following this verse is omitted. The Ghostlight version runs 4:07; the Showtime promo is 4:14 and credits the song simply as "Five and Dime."

Jimmy Takes a Hit - The Ghostlight Records version features introductory dialogue and Sally's second "Come on Jimmy, come on Jimmy, suck it down for Sally" (which was inexplicably cut from the Showtime CD).

The Orgy - The Ghostlight Records version includes a few extras riffs before Sally's first verse but is missing most of of Amy Spanger and Alan Cummings' vocalizations heard on the Showtime promo immediately before Spanger's final "Smoke the Marijuana" reprise.

Lonely Pew - The intro on the Showtime disc is slightly longer.

Listen to Jesus, Jimmy - The Ghostlight album begins with Joan of Arc's line "Give it up for Jesus," and the song includes some audience gasps and applause not heard on the Showtime promo.

Mary Jane/Mary Lane - The Showtime promo concludes with the sound of a film projector, as heard in the film.

Little Mary Sunshine - The Showtime promo begins with several seconds of dead air and includes whipping sound effects not heard on the Ghostlight CD.

Murder! - This is the song that differs the most drastically. The Showtime promo does not include any spoken dialogue (except Ralph's lines "Bad zombies! Shoo!") and has a shorter running time of 4:54. The Ghostlight version is dialogue-heavy and clocks in at 5:20.

The Stuff - The Showtime promo includes a few of Jack's lines (and sound effects) after May begins beating him that are absent from the Showtime promo.

Tell 'Em the Truth - The Ghostlight CD features a few extra riffs before Mary Lane's line, "I love you, Romeo."

Reefer Madness (end credits) - The Ghostlight CD features an extra laugh from Ralph as the song concludes.

Mary Jane, Mary Lane (reprise) - This truncated version of the song, which plays over the end credits of the film, has been altogether omitted from the Ghostlight release but it's present on the Showtime promo.