By
Mark Betancourt
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Cheerleading comedy rises above the typical teen fare
Grade: B
Picture "Election" but without the sneeringly dark sense of humor or the well-developed characters and themes. Leave the quick wit and quirky style, and you have "Sugar and Spice."
This film, by up-and-coming Australian director Francine McDougall, is similar to "Election" in that it centers around the most popular teenage demi-gods of a typical American high school. A-team cheerleaders Diane, Hannah, Cleo, Kansas and Lucy own the Lincoln High School social scene, sporting fluffy pink clothes and lush eyelashes wherever conformity rules.
But when Diane (Marley Shelton) gets pregnant and marries the captain of the football team (James Marsden), the girls direct their skills toward paying the newlyweds' bills. How cute is a cheerleading squad robbing a bank? According to the marketing team at New Line Cinema, very cute.
"I saw 'Sugar and Spice's' story as a good-humored stab at the idealism of the American Dream," McDougall stated in a press release.
OK, but like, 90 percent of the people who pay to see this movie are going to care about what sort of idealism this cheerleader's anthem takes a stab at? As if.
Maybe the film does approach satire when the girls take the "Oath of Allegience and Conformity," coupled with the constant insertion of the American flag into "Sugar"'s hyper-flawless, upper middle-class setting, but again, who will know? "Election" succeeded in freaking people out with such commentary only because it was an inescapable part of every frame of that film. "Sugar and Spice" devotes too many frames to cuteness, silliness and general marshmallow merriment not to distract the average moviegoer.
On the other hand, this film is just a fun-loving comedy, which makes it, for the most part, successful. What sets it apart from the year's other teenage romps like "Dude, Where's My Car," is that it is quick-witted, fun to watch and was written by someone who is not a moron (No offense to "Dude" fans, wherever you may be).
Several keen film tricks and well-placed punchlines turn a film that otherwise would have joined the rest of this year's disappointments into surprisingly watchable fare. One image in particular pleases the eye - the five cheerleaders gone Bonnie Parker, dressed as "Betty" dolls and carrying perfectly gift-wrapped semi-automatic weapons, striding in smooth slow-mo like the dogs of Tarantino.
At first it seems like the cast of "Sugar and Spice," which resembles scores of casts in scores of other teen movies invading the screen as of late, might not be special enough to pull off the sharp comedy, which requires subtlety. The scene where two of the girls have a tizzy while wearing their identical Betty masks comes to mind.
But somehow these kids pull it off. There is something about the captain of the football team careening through the supermarket on a shopping cart and yelling "I'm the king of the world!" which makes it impossible not to laugh - just a little. And that is what saves the movie. Sure, most will not get the subtle satire permeating many innocently delivered lines, but perhaps the film as a whole is too innocent, too prom-queen, to be taken seriously. Luckily, that saves it from the rejects pile.
