SUGAR AND SPICE
Reviewed November 5th, 2001 by David Nusair
Sugar and Spice and everything nice...
That old adage doesn’t really apply here. Sugar and Spice presents a gaggle of vapid, bubble-headed cheerleaders and asks a question as old as film itself: What would happen if such cheerleaders were to rob a bank? Intended to be a satire (of what I’m not exactly sure), but really more of a dumb comedy, Sugar and Spice works on a certain level. It’s really short (not including credits, it clocks in at less than 80 minutes) and the visual flair keeps otherwise dull moments from destroying the momentum of the flick.
The premise is simple enough – the head cheerleader begins dating the school quarterback, and soon enough the two are expecting. Kicked out of their respective homes, the soon-to-be-married duo quickly come to the realization that life is expensive. He assumes a job at the local video store while she takes on a customer service role at the local bank. After working there for a while, she decides that maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult to actually rob the joint. So, she presents her idea to her fellow cheerleaders and the squad starts planning for the heist. They begin by renting movies about bank robberies – Heat, Point Break, etc. – with the hope that they can avoid the mistakes made by those characters.
Sugar and Spice is silly, inoffensive entertainment that passes the time (it runs a mere 82 minutes), but will be almost instantly forgotten upon viewing. The performances are all good (and purposefully tongue-in-cheek) and the script does have a few choice barbs directed towards... well, everyone (but mostly air-headed cheerleaders), but the whole thing is just so slight it’s impossible to enthusiastically recommend it.
Audio: Sugar and Spice is presented with a DD 5.1 soundtrack and it serves its purpose. This is one of those tracks that does its job and nothing more. You certainly won’t be having friends over and showing off your system while Sugar and Spice is playing. Dialogue is clear but the ambient noises never really sound that impressive. This isn’t terrible by any stretch of the imagination – it’s just underwhelming.
Video: Ditto the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. It’s good, but could have been better. A fair amount of film grain is present and the DVD doesn't really handle the darker sequences all that well. Overall, like the audio, this is a transfer that delivers on a perfunctory level, but that’s about it.
Extras: First up are the usual cast/crew bios, though with the stars, you can also read a short character bio. Next are four deleted scenes, all of which were seemingly cut in order for the film to receive a PG-13 rating. Totaled, they run around four-minutes and are generally scene-extensions rather than entirely new sequences. Nothing too earth shattering here. Finally, there’s an anamorphic trailer.
Conclusion: Sugar and Spice will probably best be enjoyed by 12-year-olds.
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