Sugar and Spice (2001)

Buried on both sides of the Atlantic by "Bring It On" (the latter didn't duplicate its American box office success in the UK, but at least it got to cinemas), it's to the credit of "Sugar & Spice" that there's a big difference between the two in terms of plot, characters and overall feel - okay, they are both about cheerleaders but are they really cut from the same cloth on that count? As an American journalist wrote about Stephen J. Cannell, the only real similarity between "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "The Greatest American Hero" is that both shows involve flying.

That said, this movie is still the lesser one. One of the problems are that writer Mandy Nelson and director Francine McDougall don't seem too sure about what kind of tone it should have; it seems to want to be darker but can't summon up the nerve, its characters veer from one-note (particularly Cleo, the Conan O'Brien obsessive) to semi-real (Diane, the cheerleader captain whose unwed mother plight launches the plot), and having the movie be narrated in flashback by a rival rule-obsessed girl suggests we'll be seeing it from her POV, but it's not until some way into the story that she actually plays any kind of a role.

The movie's intentionally uncomfortable to watch, but also never especially funny - and it doesn't help that with the exception of Alexandra Holden as Fern, most of the cast aren't too believable as teenagers (and why do so many of them have first or last names that begin with the letter M? Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Melissa George [who, incidentally, I thought was playing Diane until the credits set me right], Mena Suvari, Sara Marsh...). It passes the time, and at least it's short - and give the makers credit for not trying to gloss over problems of young couples - but Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku are ultimately the short-skirt-wearers of choice in this milieu.

"Sugar & Spice" could have used more of both parts of its title.

Fmovies: It's been only five months since we've last seen a cheerleader shake fest with the successful BRING IT ON. Girls went to see the film since it was a girls story, guys went to go see it since it showed girls shakin' their charms. Now imagine BRING IT ON, just more darker and a bit more humorous, and it's called SUGAR & SPICE. And quoting one of the other user comments, it's not bad for a January release. SUGAR & SPICE's story is told by the very jealous Lisa (Marla Sokoloff) as she is speaking to federal agents. Lisa is on the second squad of the cheerleaders, and has been overlooked for so many years. Her peers known as the 'A' squad are popular, smart, and pretty. Then when a new quarterback moves into town, Jack Bartlett (James Marsden), Lisa and the rest of the female students have a crush on him, even the cafeteria lunch ladies! But Jack has his eye on Diane Weston (Marley Shelton) who made a strong impression when meeting Jack, by doing flips and accidently kicking Jack in the face. When they see eye to eye, it's love at first sight, which leds to dating for homecoming, and Diane announcing that she is pregnant with Jack's baby, and they are getting married. But in order to get married, Jack and Diane need to live on their own. They can't get any bank loans, and not being a high school graduate yet, Jack can only get evening jobs at either fast food restraunts or Video Update with geeky clerks. Diane takes a job as a bank teller at the brach adjacent to a grocery store. And it's one evening when Diane along with her cheerleader friends are watching POINT BREAK, that Diane gets an idea that her squad should rob the bank and get the money. There's Kansas (Mena Suvari) who is the rebellious cheerleader, she speaks her mind and is sort of the leader of the squad. Kansas goes to the state prison and gets bank robbing advice from her mom, Mrs. Hill (Sean Young, with no make-up). Then Cleo (a very hot and beautiful Melissa George) who is the glamorous member, who is the only girl who doesn't have a crush on Jack, because she has a crush on Conan O' Brien! Lucy (Sara Marsh) is the brains behind the group who gives second thoughts to this robbery fearing that it will cost her the Harvard scholarship that she's working on. And Hannah (Rachel Blanchard) is the religous zealot who is very worried about doing the heist for both parental and religious reasons. The girls watch classic heist movies to learn the film character's mistakes, that way they won't make the same mistakes. Classic crime movies like RESIVOR DOGS, HEAT (1995), and APPLE DUMPLING GANG are the films watched for homework. Can the girls pull off the heist and not get caught, or will Lisa, who witnessed the heist will give the girls identification away to get on the 'A' squad? I found SUGAR & SPICE to be a surprise! It was very funny and enjoyable. It's the kind of movie that doesn't praise or show the excitement of the teenage life like CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, CRUEL INTENTIONS, or SHE'S ALL THAT. Na, instead it makes fun of it, the dopey personality of Jack. The crush on a major celebrity of Cleo, the loud mouth and vulgar Kansas, the religious worried Hannah, and the constantly studying Lucy. These are the characteristics of modern teens, not "who's going to take me to homecoming?" or "will I win that boy's affection?" I knew more cheerleaders in high schoollike the ones featured in SUGAR & SPICE, than BRING IT ON, or ot

... and you got no movie, here. But wait!! Don't leave, yet. What the hell's wrong with cheese... -Albeit, once in a while. Stay with me here. I love fries with cheese. Hot dogs with cheese. Pizza... you guessed it. Hamburgers. Mac-n-Cheez. 'Nuff said, there, I think. The point: cheese is good, though overindulgence could cause health problems. But, everyone should watch this film, at least once.

What worked: In a word: CUTE! I don't think I've seen a cuter movie out there. Definately, never more lovable, laughable and NICE!! bank robbers; not even in the movie 'Bandits'. Again, you owe it to yourself to see this movie; if just once, since you don't want to over do it on your cheese intake. Even if it is so yummy.

What didn't work: Well, nothing that wasn't planned to be lame. Though, it might have used more of an element of suspense or danger. The minor plot twist was a bit -blah-.

8/10 - I kept going between 6 and 8 out of 10. The plot didn't have a lot of depth, but I stuck with 8 because I enjoyed it, in spite of myself and I don't think the writer really intended for you to be on the edge of your seat. Key word here: FUN!!

thank you

Sugar and Spice fmovies. Sugar & Spice is almost a caricature of a teen movie. It is not, because it's not making fun of teens or teen movies, but has that slightly over the top smiley attitude that pushes you to that laughing place where you don't take things too seriously. Those who didn't like that movie didn't get that vibe. It is quite fun.

Now, it's not a perfect movie, the subject matter is treated very lightly, but the story, the dialogs, and the characters are all very entertaining. It doesn't bring anything new, per se, to the table, but it does it with flair, and laughs. The girls are beautiful, but not plastic perfect. The acting is simple, but sincere and adorable in certain cases.

One of the scene, when they announce they're getting married, is the perfect example of the quality and tone of the film. It and its followup scene in the car are hilarious.

If you want to see a good little known teen flick with an adult mask, that would to it.

This movie doesn't do much, but what it does, it does good. It just tells an amusing little story with no background except to entertain.

I don't know why it gets such a bad rating, its just pretty harmless, but not bad. Maybe those people don't like the modern, black humor in it ?! Or they want movies to be serious ? Or they think having stupid characters in a movie makes the movie itself stupid ? Or they want it to be realistic ? Or what ?

I believed through the whole movie that Marley Shelton is Heather Graham, they really look very much the same. I fact, I liked it far more than Austin Powers, because it has the right joke timing. I think its the best movie with Mena Survari since American Beauty, far better, far funnier and far more natural than American Pie.

This is a funny little movie and I think its worth your time. Just don't take it serious, and enjoy its black unrealistic humor !

When I first saw this movie in theaters, I didn't think too highly of it. I didn't think it was terrible, yet I came out feeling dissatisfied. Maybe I was in a bad mood. Who knows? Well, it was Free Preview Weekend on Starz, so I checked this movie out again. And I watched it all three times they showed it. This time I had a lot more fun!

"Sugar and Spice" is far from great, and is certainly no gem, but it's enjoyable teen fluff with some good laughs. And let's face it, it centers on five sexy, scantily clad cheerleaders. If you're a guy...how much more can you ask for? This is the type of film that is made to satisfy both male and female viewers alike, kind of like "Coyote Ugly." The girls enjoy the dynamics of the female characters, the guys enjoy the beauty of the female characters. This is not as sexy as "Bring It On," but I'm still satisfied.

The humor is sometimes lame and heavy-handed, and the characters are all caricatures, but I never reached the point where I wanted to croak. The movie is overall pretty harmless. And there are some funny moments, including one where Mena Suvari goes to visit her mother (Sean Young) in prison. She asks her Mom for advice on robbing a bank. Her Mom blushes and says, "This is like asking me for help on your homework." And I have to give this movie credit: the teen characters aren't as dumb as they are in most of these movies.

"Sugar and Spice" is cute, lightweight entertainment and enables you to see five hot babes in short skirts. Sweet!

My score: 7 (out of 10)