Cast: Marley Shelton, James Marsden, Mena Suvari, Marla Sokoloff, Alexandra Holden, Rachel Blanchard, Sara Marsh, Melissa George, Sean Young
Director: Francine McDougall
Producer: Wendy Finerman
Screenplay: Mandy Nelson
Cinematography: Robert Brinkmann
Music: Mandy Nelson
U.S. Distributor: New Line Cinema
For those who didn't get enough cheerleader-associated satire with Bring It On and But I'm A Cheerleader, along comes Sugar & Spice. Of the three films, the barbs in this film are the most pointed, but, since there are some obvious areas of overlap (like beauty pageant parodies, there's not that much territory to be covered), Sugar & Spice often seems more stale than it should. And, while a portion of the comedy is genuinely funny, it's rarely of the laugh-aloud variety. Sugar & Spice comes across as a "near miss" - a frothy motion picture that offers moments of guilty pleasure but isn't good enough to earn a recommendation.
The "A" cheerleader squad at Lincoln High is made up of five friends who are closer than sisters. Diane (Marley Shelton), the leader, is the prettiest, and the object of more than one high school male's wet dreams. Kansas (Mena Suvari) is the rebel - a girl who grew up with a jailed mother. Hannah (Rachel Blanchard) is deeply religious, although her recent discovery of the orgasm has made her see sin in a new light. Lucy (Sara Marsh) is the brainy one - she's hoping for a scholarship to Harvard. Finally, there's Cleo (Melissa George), whose lone standout characteristic is that she's obsessed with Conan O'Brien. With their motto of "Cheer loud, jump high, and look pretty", these five are the envy of their fellow students, especially B-squad cheerleader Lisa (Marla Sokoloff), who will do anything to break into their elite number.
Enter Jack Bartlett (James Marsden), the football team's new quarterback, and the dreamiest hunk at Lincoln. ("It was as if he was a bar of chocolate - everybody in school wanted a piece of him.") For Diane and Jack, it's love at first sight. They become the Barbie and Ken of Lincoln High, and, on the night of the big dance, they announce their engagement - and Diane's pregnancy. Soon, disowned by their parents, they're on their own, and finances are tight. So, after watching Point Break, Diane comes up with an idea to solve her money problems - bank robbery. The other cheerleaders are all for it, and, with the help of another girl, Fern (Alexandra Holden), they begin to watch movies like Reservoir Dogs in the hope that they'll pick up a few tips before they actually try to pull their own heist.
The six primary actresses - Marley Shelton, Mena Suvari, Rachel Blanchard, Sara Marsh, Melissa George, and Marla Sokoloff - get the most mileage out of whatever stereotype they're playing. Most importantly, these actresses allow us to care (at least a little) about their characters - a necessary element for even a lightweight satire to work. Namewise, Survari and Sokoloff are the best known (Suvari for American Beauty, American Pie, and Loser; Sokoloff for "The Practice" and Whatever It Takes). Shelton has a number of projects in the works, including the unpromising-looking Valentine. Blanchard and George have relatively short resumes and Marsh is making her feature debut. The only male of any note, James Marsden, is on the brink of stardom (he recently appeared as Cyclops in the X-Men movie).
Sugar & Spice goes after just about every imaginable aspect of high school life, from dating and social cliques to sports, religion, and after-school jobs. There don't appear to be any sacred cows that the film avoids, and it's something of a wonder that, with all of the risqué material, it attained a PG-13 rating (instead of an R). The lampooning is of the hit-or-miss variety. At times, it's clever; on other occasions, it comes across as dumb. It's interesting to note that the primary creative team behind the film is female - director Francine McDougall, producer Wendy Finerman, and screenwriter Mandy Nelson - which accounts for the movie's sassy tone and more knowing approach to certain details of a girl's life. (Would a man think of using the aligned cycles of five girls' periods for comedic purposes?) So, although the film can't be seen as a complete success (if you really want a good satire about high school, view Election), it's far more watchable than one might suspect from a film dumped unceremoniously into theaters on a Superbowl weekend.
© 2001 James Berardinelli