Sugar & Spice (2001)

reviewed by
Berge Garabedian


SUGAR & SPICE
RATING: 6.5/10 --> So-so

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PLOT: A cute and cuddly cheerleading squad consider robbing a bank, when their captain gets preggers and must deal with the harsh reality of paying bills, etc... The girls watch movies and talk to some real-life con-women to get prepared for their roles.

CRITIQUE: Despite my rating of "so-so", I was actually disappointed with this movie because its fresh and punchy premise started off strong, only to disappear in the film's less than impressive second half. What the heck happened there? Here's a movie that bangs out on all cylinders, give you a few smiles, a few laughs, some dark comedy and a very cool idea, and suddenly about halfway through, the screenwriter seems to have given up on the whole thing and just wrapped it all up with some filler. I'd love to know what happened. If anyone associated with this production can explain this to me, please email me...seriously! My theory is that the "premise" of the movie alone sold it to the production company. "Five wholesome cheerleading teenage girls out to rob banks"-- where do we sign? But once production started, they probably realized that they actually had to make a complete story out of this very cool premise and despite the second half playing "okay", most people will likely be let down. Seemed kinda anticlimactic to me. But all is not lost, since the film does still ring original, which is why I would still recommend it to most.

Just take some HEATHERS, grab a stick o' RESERVOIR DOGS and dash it all up with some BRING IT ON (natch, the film grossed all kinds of dough last year) and that's pretty much what you've got here, albeit...on a very light tip. The girls are all very good in their roles, over-the-top, goofy and pretty sexy for the most part. Teenage boys can't really go wrong with this movie, as the girls love to walk around in their cutesy-patootsy cheerleading outfits no matter where they go, and we even get a couple of Victoria's Secret moments. Woo-hoo! And teenage girls will likely connect to the whole concept of wanting to rob banks in Betty masks...uuuhmmm, well, you get the idea. Female empowerment, rah-rah and all that jazz! And howsabout that James Marsden? Yowsa! And kudos to the makers of this film for tipping the proper cap of homage out to their influences such as POINT BREAK, HEAT and many more. So what can you take away from this review? Well, I liked the whole "idea" of the movie, enjoyed most of its execution, till about the half-way point, and was pretty disappointed in the film's second half (which slowed and seemed to forget about one character in particular...what the hell?) and its very weak ending. I don't know what to tell you, kids. I'm pretty much in the middle on this one. Great marketing, cool premise, creepy masks, but in the end, too much unrealized potential. Check out my ratings of similar films below and see if you jive with me at all.

PS: And by the way, Heather Graham does not star in this movie! I know, I know...the lead girl looks EXACTLY like her, but trust me when I tell you that it's not her. It took The Arrow and I some time to figure this out, but geez, do they ever look alike or what? The actress' name in question in Marley Shelton.

Where's JoBlo coming from? Charlie's Angels (8/10) - Election (7/10) - Heathers (8/10) - Heat (8/10) - Point Break (7/10) - Reservoir Dogs (9/10)

Review Date: January 22, 2001
Director: Francine McDougall
Writer: Mandy Nelson
Producer: Wendy Finerman
Actors: Marley Shelton as Diane Weston
James Marsden as Jack Bartlett
Mena Suvari as Kansas Hill
Genre: Comedy
Year of Release: 2001
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(c) 2001 Berge Garabedian

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