Starring Marley Shelton and Mena Suvari
What? You doubt the power of Don Juan de Conan? Believing that the late-night talk show host thrills the ladies nightly takes a leap from reality, but it makes you laugh when thinking of the possibilities. Those lustful feelings are owned by Cleo (Melissa George) in "Sugar and Spice" (New Line, PG-13) and can be transferred to the movie as a whole.
The witty, somewhat-dark comedy cartwheels beyond the cheerleaders-rob-banks plot for a peppy, enjoyable time. And as with most comedies, the secret lies in the combination of great writing and actors having a good time. Although most of the characters fit into tidy stereotypes, they aren't predictable. The cheerleading crew draws out the jocks and nerds (this is a teen comedy, after all), but the fun comes in the whip-smart dialogue and the cascading events leading to the inevitable bank heist.
The pop culture references come aplenty in the eclectic cheerleading A-team: the leader, Diane (Marley Shelton), the obsessive Cleo, the G-rated Hannah (Rachel Blanchard), the wicked Kansas (Mena Suvari) and the brain, Lucy (Sara Marsh). With such defined characteristics, it was only a matter of time before the vaults flew open.
But how could teen-agers stoop to a life of crime? Have CD prices jumped that much? No, the girls are forced into their deed after Diane meets Jack (James Marsden), the sensitive football hero. Jack and Diane? I love pop puns. John Mellencamp would be proud.
Young love ensues, and Diane's pregnancy kicks the couple out of their respective homes. The ensuing costly apartment life (gas is killer) drains finances faster than a prom date running from the rain. A hearty review of bank heist movies helps the girls come up with their gimmick: Betty-doll masks. The rest, as they say, is up to MTV's Kurt Loder to report.
One of the interesting storytelling devices is using Lisa (Marla Sokoloff), the B-team captain full of perpetual envy, as the narrator. This adds a sense of subjectivity to the tale, and also allows for some choice one-liners. In talking about Jack's sex appeal, Lisa explains, "It's like he was a chocolate bar and everyone was on the rag." Not too clean, but quite funny.
The prototypical audience for "Sugar and Spice" is college students and hip high schoolers. The movie requires those attending to realize that the moral road isn't always taken, and that teen-age pregnancy isn't a laughing matter in "real" life. Accepting those conditions allows for greater cinematic enjoyment.
The ensemble acting allows for each character to find the humor in his or her role without grating on the nerves. The most well-known of the actresses, Suvari, doesn't command the most screen time; that honor goes to the perkily tired Diane. Shelton's voice and wide-eyed innocence add a great balance between farce and genuine feelings.
The true treasures, though, lie in the machine-gun spraying of pop-culture references. Not knowing that the band is playing the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" won't hurt, but that knowledge adds a new layer of humor. Very saucy, no? A lot like Conan.
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