Spice World (1997)

reviewed by
James Berardinelli


SPICE WORLD
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ** OUT OF ****
United Kingdom, 1997
U.S. Release Date: 1/23/98 (wide)
Running Length: 1:33
MPAA Classification: PG (Mild profanity, sexual innuendo)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, George Wendt, Claire Rushbrook, Naoko Mori, Mark McKinney, Richard O'Brien, Steven O'Donnell, Roger Moore Director: Bob Spiers Producers: Uri Fruchtmann and Barnaby Thomspon Screenplay: Kim Fuller based on an idea by The Spice Girls and Kim Fuller Cinematography: Clive Tickner Music: Paul Hardcastle, The Spice Girls U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Arguably, the Spice Girls are to the 1990s what ABBA was to the 1970s. Despite their radically different compositions, both groups have a lot in common. Just like ABBA twenty years ago, the Spice Girls are pop wonders who manage to rise consistently to the top of the music charts despite the essential vapidity of their hits. And, although they get very little respect from "serious" music lovers, they continue to sell albums at an alarming rate. Now, for better or worse, the Spice Girls have done something that ABBA never did: starred in a movie.

It's worth noting at the outset that I am definitely not a member of the target audience for this movie. I'm not a screaming pre-teen girl or a hormone-crazed 12-year old boy. I'm also not a Spice Girls fan. Actually, going into the film, I was rather neutral towards them. As SPICE WORLD's running length dragged on, however, and I was subjected to one repetitive song after another, I began to develop an active dislike for the singing group. They may be pleasant to look at, but their irritating antics as presented here are enough to put someone off of them permanently. Suffice it to say that I won't be buying the soundtrack.

The movie's premise is as flimsy as can be, but it least it doesn't require a whole lot of acting from the main quintet of Baby Spice (Emma Bunton), Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell), Scary Spice (Melanie Brown), Sporty Spice (Melanie Chisholm), and Posh Spice (Victoria Adams). SPICE WORLD follows the group as they travel around London getting ready for a big concert at the Albert Hall. Along the way, they endure photo shoots, constant attention from the paparazzi, pressure from their neurotic manager (Richard E. Grant), interference from a documentary film maker (Alan Cumming), and the attempts of a tabloid owner (Barry Humphries) and his chief photographer (Richard O'Brien) to split them up. In the end, however, they triumph over all adversity and wow their fans.

The press package for SPICE WORLD makes the jaw-dropping statement that the film is "a '90s version of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT with a pinch of THIS IS SPINAL TAP and a dash of SPEED". Time for a reality check. Any similarities between SPICE WORLD and those three films are entirely superficial. The SPEED citation points to a brief parody of a high- speed bus chase, and nothing more. No aspect of SPICE WORLD's occasional pseudo-documentary approach comes close to the acid edge achieved by SPINAL TAP. And, although the film is clearly trying to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles' classic, it's several long strides behind, lacking the same sense of originality, spontaneity, high energy, and joi de vie. Not to mention the differences in music quality. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT was a breath of fresh air; SPICE WORLD is recycled.

The film is littered with unexpected cameos (Stephen Fry, Bob Hoskins, Elton John, Hugh Laurie, Meat Loaf, Jennifer Saunders, Richard Briers, Elvis Costello). Some can surely be attributed to the involvement of film maker Bob Spiers, who is a directing icon for the British sit-com industry. During his long career, he has helmed episodes of "Fawlty Towers," "Are You Being Served," "Alexi Sayle," "A Bit of Fry and Laurie," and "Absolutely Fabulous." Sadly, however, Spiers doesn't generate enough laughter here, and even the "name the next familiar face" game can't save the film.

Although the Spice Girls, who appear comfortable in front of the camera, are the headliners, there are a few legitimate performers in the film. Richard E. Grant leads the pack as an intentionally over-the-top neurotic who quickly got on my nerves. Alan Cumming, Barry Humphries, George Wendt (as an American movie producer), Richard O'Brien (best known as Riff Raff from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW), and Claire Rushbrook (as the Girls' assistant) all have more than a few seconds of screen time. Then there's Roger Moore, who, as "The Chief," finds himself satirizing his part as James Bond (although some would argue that his tenure in that role ended in self-parody). While sipping shaken (not stirred) vodka martinis, stroking a cat, and living a life of luxury, he utters such nonsensical profundities as "A headless chicken can only know where he has been. He cannot see where he is going."

SPICE WORLD is a vanity project -- an ego trip designed to show the five girls in the best possible light and give them a chance to perform about 14 numbers on-screen. As a comedy, it's weak, because most of the jokes are obvious and not especially funny. As a satire, it's weaker, because the screenplay never takes any chances and all of the mini parodies are safe, silly, and creatively lifeless. The film isn't even a particularly good musical, because the songs are so inane. The only people who are likely to be able to sit through SPICE WORLD without casting numerous yearning glances at the exit are those who number themselves among the group's legion of die-hard fans. Ultimately, this film has too much Spice and not enough flavoring.

Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli
e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net

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