movies

Review: Sugar & Spice (2001)

As an avid movie lover with some of my favorite movies being "Saved" and "Jawbreaker", I have a fondness for early 200's rhetorical comedies that are just the tip of high school cringey, with realism t almost their to make fun of the genre itself. This one was fresh air: a group of popular cheerleaders robbing a bank talk about flipping a trope on its head!

I Was surprised to find James Marsden being the male lead, the breakout golden boy whose school bends to him in an almost cult way. But was really surprised me was how wholesome he and Diane were. They genuinely loved each other and wanted the best for each other (somewhat naively, but now...teenagers). He was a bit dumb in that cliché way, but that added to the charm. This movie doesn't take itself seriously and that's what I love about this genre since the early 2000s, where the rise of movies that were borderline insane were not supposed to take these movies seriously.

Hannah and kansas are funny and giggle at Hannah's obvious amped-up Christian naivety but laugh harder at the pauses that come after the cut with Kansas brash and aggressive delivery. They’re direct foils to each other. It's it's hilarious. Their glitzy appearance and their angelic appearance are so jarring. It's hilarious. I mean seriously robbing a bank at gunpoint?? The gun scene the casual absurdity is zany, the juxtaposition is good.

It's so hidden in plain sight and don't forget the zealous unreliable narrator, who was blinded by her insecurities, that what she said never marched to what was on-screen. Diane was a sweetheart who was just caught up in the future of her children. She even invited the outcast into their scheme — reluctantly at first but blended in well.

This is a solid saitirical movie that plays on high school tropes and relies on the absurdity of flipping those tropes on their head.

would you watch it?