Director: Francine McDougall
Writer: Mandy Nelson
Stars: Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Melissa George, Mena Suvari, Rachel Blanchard
Countries: United States
Jack and Diane were lovers, two crazy kids living in the heartlands. Airheaded Diane captains the cheerleading squad, who follow her through whatever she does. Jack is, of course, the football team’s star quarterback. When Diane becomes pregnant, the two are thrown out of their homes and move into an apartment where they try to live on Jack’s part-time salary from clerking at a video store. Meanwhile both continue in school – cheerleading and quarterbacking. When Diane realizes that they’re not making it financially, she recruits the other cheerleaders to help her rob a bank. Their cheerleader oath of all for one commits them to helping her. A local hood gives them guns in exchange for their promise to put his homely daughter on the cheerleading squad.
I saw this movie yesterday and I have to say it was funnier and warmer than I had expected. At the beginning, the first 15 minutes I expected another cheerleader movie similar to “Bring It On” someone being jealous (Lisa Janusch) at the head of cheerleader team (Diane), they (B*tch)fight and the underdog wins. So, I did not see much of the beginning because I thought it would be predictable and that’s why I zapped away a few times.How wrong was I, this movie was funny and unpredictable. I really liked how those girls stick together and stay together, even though all of them had different background. I also liked the way Jack loved Diane, he really did a lot for her. After knowing Diane was pregnant I thought it was going to be a teenage drama with the quarterback ditching the girl and stuff because of because he could not handle the pressure. Instead of the girl getting ditched, she’s robs a bank…….Of course we have to bare in mind that everything here is fictional and for that reason: please do not take this movie serious (come on guns duck-taped together and still being able to shoot??), just enjoy the movie on a rainy day.Cheers
It’s a fresh comedy, with smart conflict where the unexpected always happens. The cast was comic with great sense of humor to mock at the teen girls. The hidden satire gives it a little deepness that could make it live longer; you must rob to survive, the perfect role models aren’t that perfect after all, and it even shows how the dirty money financed the politicians, or how the politicians themselves can be so dull; to have a gang’s head as a wife, and know nothing about it!However, the movie seems short, with unnecessary parts too. For instance, it delayed till the end of its first half to hit its point of attack; the idea of the heist, to have us for quite some time watching just the problem which led to that! Plus, what’s the need for an extra girl, the daughter of the weapons’ dealer, where she did nothing to the story or the comedy??, or what’s the need for free nasty scenes like the big black worker woman at the prison who looks lustfully to the young girls??!! Actually, I suspect also how the 2 minutes of “Where are they now?” part was added just to lengthen the movie’s running time which’s originally a 73 minutes long only. Let alone how its third act, the robbery itself, wasn’t as hot and ironic as it should’ve been.Despite anything, it’s a good little crime comedy that assured how the unfair society must be robbed, and how the teen polished girls can plan and achieve the perfect crime. It looks like some revenge on anyone who ever sees that girls are weak, or less intelligent than men. No wonder I suppose, since it came from 2 girls already: director Francine McDougall, and scriptwriter Lona Williams (Mandy Nelson is an alias that Williams used). Williams is the one who wrote (Drop Dead Gorgeous) 2 years earlier, where she illustrated how the girls got sugar and bad spice. Here, she clarified the existence of the good spice anyway. But it could’ve been better, lighter and stronger.
I hate to say it, this is one of my guilty pleasure films. Truly one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Excellent cast. Great pacing. Wonderful dialog! I have seen this film numerous times, and every time I watch it, I laugh. With such great lines like “Don’t be a whore and a murderer” and “So what are you anorexic or bulimic? Just skinny. Don’t make me hate you.” Hilarious. Mena Suvari is awesome, as is Marley Shelton. Both are great. Of course, the cast as a whole is very well matched. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the wit of Juno, though it is not as forced as Juno was at times (not to say that Juno wasn’t a great film, it was).Also, keep an eye out for the hilarious opening scene with the mascot and the old principal. Enjoy. It’s an under appreciated classic.
Sugar and Spice (2001): Dir: Francine McDougall / Cast: Marley Shelton, Marla Sokoloff, Mena Suvari, James Marsden, Melissa George: Inventive teen comedy exposing nastiness within the seemingly innocent. It regards a group of cheerleaders who use their skill to rob banks when one of their own becomes pregnant. Marley Shelton plays the pregnant teenager and after their parents kick them out her jock boyfriend gets a job as a video store clerk. She and her fellow cheerleaders plan a bank robbery, which seems to applaud stealing, cheating and lying but the young ladies present such spirit. Francine McDougall directs with a sharp edge right up to the robbery segment where their energetic cheerleading skills come in handy. Shelton is well cast as the pregnant ditz out to secure her future in the most illegal fashion possible. Marla Sokoloff narrates her anger when refused on the cheerleading squad. Mena Suvari plays the foul tempered leader with a sharp tongue. James Marsden is amusing as the football jock who brings many of the biggest laughs through his lousy attempts to maintain employment. Melissa George is also amongst the girls out to score a high heist. There are those that will no doubt be opposed to certain elements of this film but nonetheless it is an interesting social commentary addressing the economy and the consequences for mistakes. Score: 7 / 10
Diane ‘Mastermind’ Weston (Marley Shelton) is the leader of the Lincoln High School cheerleaders with Hannah ‘religious virgin’ Wald (Rachel Blanchard), Cleo ‘Conan O’Brien stalker’ Miller (Melissa George), Kansas ‘Rebel’ Hill (Mena Suvari) and Lucy ‘Brain’ Whitman (Sara Marsh). They are arrested and the jealous leader of the B-squad Lisa Janusch (Marla Sokoloff) is ratting out the girls to the police. Jack Bartlett (James Marsden) is the popular school football jock who gets Diane pregnant. They get their own apartment but she is stressed out about money. After watching ‘Point Break’, Diane has an unlikely idea. To get a gun, they have to include the criminal’s daughter Fern Rogers (Alexandra Holden) in the squad.The movie is deliberately quirky. The problem is that the main cheerleaders are not that funny. They aren’t comedians and fail to deliver the humor properly. Some of it works. The funniest potential is actually Sokoloff. She could be the overly paranoid, jealous and ambitious lead like Tracy Flick in ‘Election’. This movie has a great idea on the surface but fails to deliver the laughs.
The start of the movie nearly had me switching it off as it looked like a typical, painted-by-numbers high school comedy. I’m glad I didn’t. After 10 minutes, the scene had been set in a rather laborious manner, then it really got going. Lots of good jokes. A mix of wit, parody, satire and just plain daft. Much funnier than “Bridesmaids.” I’d put it at about two times funnier than a typical Scary Movie. The cheerleaders and their plan being totally bonkers, instead of just silly, helped. A few jokes fell flat for me but then there were so many jokes that it didn’t really matter. None were worked to death as happens in some gross-out movies. A couple of wince-worthy non-PC lines didn’t spoil the fun for me. Not surprising for 2001. No great acting skills or implants needed as the dialogue and scenarios kept the whole thing careering along. I’m guessing that the few non-PC bits have caused the critics to curb their enthusiasm.
The storyplot was okay by itself, but the film felt very bubbly and fake. It also had the worst ending. They were probably going for a surprise ending, but all it did was leave me the question of what the whole point of the story was. All other teen movies are better than this one.
It’s a cute idea. he’s the super quarterback of the high school football team and she’s the leader of the cheerleading squad and together they’re a match made in heaven. They’re also going to be parents at the ripe old age of seventeen. `Oh, what’s a girl to do?’ How about gather together your cheerleading squad and rob banks.Cute it is, but since the bank robbing doesn’t take place until the last half of the film you’re left with another campy movie about naïve high school kids battling for popularity. There are a few laughable moments but most of the scenes are as boring to watch as actual cheerleading tryouts. Not even a rousing rendition of `We’ve Got Spirit’ could breathe life back into this yawner.The performances are all quite adequate but nothing more. Marsden is a cliched dope surrounded by swooning girls and ignorant jocks while Mena Suvari, as beautiful as she is, only recreates her role from `American Beauty’ as a rebelious cheerleader.The look and feel of the entire film carries a bit of cheapness to it, emphasizing the fact that this a first time director who may have a long road ahead of her. Only making it worse, many of the interior scenes look as if they take place in a cardboard box.Sometimes a cute idea is only that… a cute idea.2 out of 5
`Sugar and Spice’ is a superior black comedy about a high school cheerleading squad who robs a supermarket bank branch. Sharp and, and at times, wickedly funny, this is the movie `Legally Blonde’ was supposed to be.Marley Shelton who plays Diane, the squad leader, looks like a cross between Heather Graham (minus the prominent frontal outcroppings) and Reese Witherspoon (minus the `Howdy Doody’ jaw). Shelton’s comic delivery is every bit as deft as Reese’s and she lacks Witherspoon’s slight air of superiority. She’s the acting glue that hold’s this movie together. Also, very effective in far fewer scenes is James Marsden, playing the sweetly lunkheaded quarterback and Sean Young (SHOCK) as Mena Suvari’s murderous mother. Melissa George, Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Rachel Blanchard and Alexandra Holden also give solid support. The only weak link is Marla Sokoloff as the squad’s nemesis. Even with her “work,” she barely registers compared with the other girls. Also, the film is slightly marred by an abrupt, though reasonably plausible (for a satirical farce) ending, `Sugar and Spice’ delivers the goods. It’s `Legally Blonde’ without the political correctness; or, as the squad might chant, `LB without the PC’.
I had to review this movie and wasn’t too keen on doing so. The(European) cover and the synopsis made me think of all the stupidteen comedies I have seen before. No thanksBut surprise surprise this was an excellent comedy! It shows justhow stupid American culture is. Not that I dislike American culture,after all I lived there for a while, but it’s not quite what Europe is allabout. This movie tackles all the obsessions of the Americanpeople: pretty naïve cheerleaders and healthy but ignorantquarterbacks as the ideal high school kids; popculture and all itsexcesses as a source of information; the absurd but highlypraised legal system, the american dream, etc Irony, cynism, sarcasm en political incorrectness are forms ofhumor that you hardly find in American comedies, but this moviehas them all! The movie however refers to so many Americanthings that most Europeans won’t get the jokes. Hey, how can youlaugh with one character’s obsession of Conan O’Brien, if you’venever seen the guy before. The acting is top, and the humor is justvery funny! This was a pleasant surprise.
For those looking for realistic or perfect plotting, get a grip. This is a teen comedy in which cheerleaders plan out a bank robbery with barbies and drive to the bank in a van with a giant cockroach on top. Its the funniest and most re-watchable teen comedy I have ever seen, and unlike other teen comedies, the characters and situations are never annoying or gross, and despite stereotypes, each one has their own story and voice. The soundtrack is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Quotable laugh-out-loud funny lines, delivered flawlessly by talented actors. Go and watch it, and don’t take it so seriously… ITS PREGNANT BANKROBBING CHEERLEADERS!
Coming into Sugar and Spice, I have to admit I wasn’t exactly expecting much- if anything. I was guilty of wanting to see it (hey any movie about cheerleaders that go on a crime spree has my vote of wanting to see it), but mostly because it seemed like it would be nevertheless enjoyable. Well, when sitting down to watch it I won’t lie in saying that expecting it to JUST be enjoyable wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to have the mind to like it (I love dark comedies, and especially ones they aren’t afraid to poke fun at themselves), and you know what? I loved this movie.I will say the moment “Sugar and Spice” opened I leaned back in my seat, preparing myself to be disappointed. The movie has a very simple (yet perhaps appropriate) opening, and they immediately were jumping into story. Usually I don’t fly with that, and even in this movie case I didn’t immediately. Then when they started to crank up the cheer leading routines I thought: “Great, they have this great premise, but they’re going to focus more on the cheer leading than the plot.” Thankfully- they didn’t. What made it start to click for me was the realization that all the characters were going to stay in character. I’m so glad they didn’t do the typical cheerleader mean girl, but instead did poke fun at the dim witted head cheerleader (and football star), but keep them on that level where they don’t become annoying, too over-the-top, but instead make them likable. This film was hilarious, and you love these girls so much that you want to see them prevail in their life of crime. You feel sympathy for these girls (in particular Marley Shelton’s lead character, whom you want to see achieve the all American dream), and they’re enjoyable to watch as they are to laugh with.Sure this movie has it’s cutesy, almost implausible moments. Plus like I said this movie opened (and perhaps ended) very simple, and for that I wish this movie has been slightly longer. I’ll admit that they sort of milked this story as far as it would go without starting to become annoying or TOO over-the-top where it becomes annoying, tiresome, or even embarrassing. The film is very funny, extremely enjoyable, and is a very dark treat.
I love this movie and watch it every few months. The casting is perfect – Mena Suvari as Kansas and James Marsden as Jack are the standouts among an exceptional cast. This film is cheesy in the greatest way. I mean, it’s about a high school cheerleading squad robbing a bank to fund the cheer captain’s pregnancy! The characters are really well developed and are the driving force. They all have little aspects of them that make them unique and hilarious – I find Cleo’s obsession with Conan O’Brien to be particularly funny. The film is narrated by a very snarky and obviously jealous “B Squad” (junior varsity) cheerleader. They do a good job of juxtaposing what she says with what is actually happening, but the lines blur a little as you get farther into the story and you start to wonder what to believe. It truly does have surprising little twists and turns, but nothing overwhelming. This is a great movie to just relax and watch with your friends or in a bubble bath or something. Witty, memorable, and ultimately a story of the power of female friendship and a satire of high school politics and stereotypes.
I had high expectations for this movie. I guess that they were a little too high, because this movie did not work. It started off great, being fast paced, biting, and just plain mean. Any movie where the parents of both the head cheerleader and the quarterback cheer about their marriage, but scream about their pregnancy…well, it can still suck.The movie cared too much about its subjects. It had a heart for the cheerleaders (either that or it was the toning down after the shootings), and thus I didn’t feel that the point of the movie was to laugh at them, but to laugh with them. This is like American Pie, where we laugh with the characters. Except the humor that could have worked was aimed at them, thus making a conflict and making many jokes not funny. Also, the timing was off on alot of the jokes. “You want to dust my a**” should have been funny, but it wasn’t.So, if you like the light-hearted dark comedy genre (of which there aren’t too many…none that I can think of off the top of my head), see this movie, otherwise, stay to the biting satire of Bring it On.3/10
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.
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 other teen flicks. The humor in it is quite clever. A example would be Jack’s job at Video Update, where he works with two teenage geeky clerks. They hire Jack because of his popularity at school, and they also want to hear his sex stories with Diane. It’s like a twisted version of SHE’S ALL THAT when you think about it, but it’s more realistic. And the robbery scene at the bank is without a doubt the funniest bank robbery since George Clooney did his in OUT OF SIGHT. And the acting is also done very well, all of the girls do a good job playing teenage cheerleaders, when all of them are old enough to legally drink! I personaly enjoyed Melissa George, her character crush on Conan was quite funny, and did I mention how beautiful she was? I also enjoy the dim-witted performance of James Marsden who proves that he’s a good actor, after being Cyclops in X-MEN, he can show his acting talent even further. SUGAR & SPICE is a enjoyable dark comedy, it’s the kind of movie that people who already graduated high school would enjoy. That’s because teens in high school now won’t get the jokes since they either act like that, know people like that, or it’s too witty for them. But for those who remember the wanna be’s, the pretty girls, and the idiots in school, SUGAR & SPICE is a treat! And not to forget the heist is also funny itself. **** (out of five)
… 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 & 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)
Sugar And Spice wasn’t released at any cinemas over here in the UK. I have no idea why. I mean, if bigger flop movies like Say It Isn’t So and Josie And The Pussycats (-Was only released in a couple of cinemas though.) were released here than why not Sugar And Spice. Anyway, it was out to buy on DVD over here on Monday, so I brought it straight away. (The DVD contains no extras, just the movie trailer.)Sugar And Spice a was comedy movie mixed with crime. It was NOTHING like cheerleading flick, Bring It On though. Yes, Sugar And Spice was about cheerleaders and there was the odd cheer at the high-school but that’s it.Now, Sugar And Spice, is about a group of high school cheerleaders, who are all the best of friends, and they would do anything for each-other. When one of them becomes pregnant with the star quarterback’s child, she finds herself in need of some desperate cash, so with the help of her friends, they coy up a plan, to rob a bank, so she can get the money she needs. The cast which includes the likes of, Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Mena Suvari and James Marsden are all quite good here.The movie itself was interesting, but it could of been a little better. And, at only 78 minutes long, the movie definitely could of been a bit longer. Sugar And Spice was still a good movie, and if you’re into teen movies, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. I give Sugar And Spice a 7/10.
This is a smart movie about dumb people but don’t let that get in the way of your enjoying it.There are a lot of laugh-out-loud situations in this short (less than 90 minutes by my watch) film. The whole situation is laughable when the team captain of the `A-Squad’ cheerleaders at Lincoln High School is pregnant and what she does to make the situation more livable.James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops in `X-Men’) is the too-good-to-be-true boyfriend of Marley Shelton (Diane Weston in the film) whose innocence, sweetness and naivety makes you want to believe that there really are people like that in the real world.Mena Suvari (late of both `American Beauty’ and `American `Pie’) is a study in contrasts as the girl that `was born in prison.’ There has been a spate of cheerleader movies this last year but this one owes much more to `But I’m A Cheerleader’ than it does to `Bring It On.’ There is a tension and sense of surrealism that isn’t in `Bring It On.’ When all the cheer leaders don their `Betty’ masks it becomes very surrealistic almost spooky.There is no big opening to this film: just an introduction to the characters; but there is a nice end to the film explaining what happens to the major characters after the end of the film.I enjoyed this film much more than I thought I would give it a chance you may enjoy it too.
An entertaining comedy with Marley Shelton as the head cheerleader who gets pregnant with the star quarterback’s child. Then, while watching that classic of modern cinema, “Point Break,” on tv she hatches a plan that wouldn’t it be great fun if her and her cheerleader buddies (including Mena Suvari) robbed a bank? Wouldn’t that just help her with her financial problems? This is all very silly and the filmmakers wisely don’t take any of this seriously, producing a very funny comedic take on cheerleading, high school and bad movies. GRADE: B+
A high school cheerleading squad robs a bank in order to support the burgeoning family of one of their own. They get the idea watching the Keanu Reeves movie Point Break and then watch movies like Reservoir Dogs and Dog Day Afternoon to figure out how exactly to pull the caper off.Now, I know what you’re thinking. Sounds like a cutesy family movie, right? The kind that warms the cockles, wherever they are. Well, almost. It’s a dead-on, surprisingly hilarious comedy, with perfect off-center performances and a crisp, honest script.The last cheerleading movie I saw (and quick, can you name more than a couple anyway? Didn’t think so) was the Kirsten Dunst comedy Bring It On. This one blows that out of the water, out of the atmosphere, and out of the solar system. There’s no moralizing. There’s no good-girls-are-right, bad-girls-are-wrong lesson. Heck, we’re talking about teenage girls pulling off a robbery! And one thing that could have sunk this movie early on was a character change. You’ve seen movies in which a character, faced with a new set of circumstances, does a 180-degree turnaround on how they’ve behaved up to that point. In this movie, you’d expect the girls to suddenly become flawless professional robbers. Not so. And while their plan has its faults, it’s still a plan, buoyed by the vacant aphorisms of their leader, the pregnant and chipper Diane (Marley Shelton). Sing-songy and ebullient, the kids squabble among themselves but, in the true spirit of cheerleading and gosh-darn Girl Scout-like togetherness, they pull together as a team. Hip! Hip! Hooray!Decent cheerleading movies are hard to come by. Come to think of it, so are any cheerleading movies. Oh, not that I’m looking, but I can name only two off the top of my head: Bring It On and the legendary, overlooked (okay, just kidding) 1977 opus Satan’s Cheerleaders. But the latter’s pep squad was in college, so it’s different. But I digress.Truth be told, there’s not a dull moment in the movie. Diane’s knocked up before the prom by her dimwit football-hero boyfriend. This guy’s so stupid he gets himself fired from such seemingly unfireable jobs as fast-food employee and other glamorous retail employment opportunities. See, in the real world, he’d be upset that the luster had worn off his diamond of an image, having to work with geeks at the video store. But he’s a dope, blissfully ignorant. He knows but one thing – that he loves Diane – and being such a dullard is supremely helpful to the film (and isn’t easy to do; kudos goes to James Marsden in the role).In short, a real hoot. We’ve seen many bank robbery movies with their own twists and idiosyncrasies; this one’s one of the better ones to come down the pike. Go team go!
This chick flick had lot to offer, especially the fact that desperate times lead to desperate measures. I loved this movie- to me it was like Clueless meets Point Break. It was amazing, and i thought all performances were great.This new line cinema film, may have been a low budget one, but it was brilliant. Marley Shelton’s character of Diane Weston, may not have been the perfect protagonist for this kind of movie,but she was sweet and funny- what i found good was Rachel Blanchard’s portrayal as Hannah. We saw her before playing Cher is the unsuccesfull ‘clueless’ TV series, and in Road Trip as Tiffany- well though those were just inconsiderable, this performance was something different. Mena Suvari made a really good Kansas. Her partial sweet/tough looks, made her seem the perfect casting decision.All in all- this mix of comedy and drama, makes this movie a great film for all teenagers. The famous pose of the 6 girls at the police station, is certainly unforgettable.