SUGAR & SPICE
Year: 2001
USA: New Line Cinema
Cast: Marley Shelton, James Marsden, Mena Suvari, Marla Sokoloff, Alexandra Holden, Rachel Blanchard, Sara Marsh, Melissa George, Nate Maher, Jake Hoffman, W Earl Brown, Sean Young, Adam Busch, Joseph-Michael Botten, Deirdre Kennedy
Director: Francine McDougall
Country: USA
USA Rated: PG-13 for language, sex-related humor and some thematic elements
USA Release Date: 26 January 2001
Synopsis
SUGAR & SPICE is the no-holds-barred teen comedy that takes "girl power" to hilarious new extremes - and proves that sometimes "everything nice" leads to crime. This is the irreverently comic tale of Lincoln High School's A-Squad Cheerleaders, a group of sassy, sharp-tongued but sweet young ladies who decide to remain loyal to their cheerleaders' "Oath of Allegiance and Conformity" no matter what. When the going gets tough, they stick together . . . or is that stick 'em up?
The A-Squad is your typical group of mall-going, pizza-eating, Ouija-board consulting, boy-chasing, locker room-gossiping 21st century American teenagers living on the edge of perfection. Sure, each member has her foibles. Diane (Marley Shelton), the captain of the sqaud who is madly in love with Lincoln High star quarterback Jack Bartlett (James Marsden), has nuclear-powered enthusiasm. Hannah (Rachel Blanchard) is righteously born-again. Kansas (Mena Suvari), the rebel whose mother (Sean Young) is doing time in the local prison, can't help but talk trashy. Lucy (Sarah Marsh) is a geek obsessed with going to Harvard. And Cleo (Melissa George) has fantasies of stalking Conan O'Brien. But when they work together, making human pyramids and rousing the home team, they rule.
High school is heaven for these paragons of teenage bliss - until Jack and Diane find themselves in an unexpected adult situation, and in desperate need of extra cash. In order to help their friend Diane, the A-Squad goes where no cheerleader has gone before: taking on a little after-school project known as bank robbery. But like five Bonnies without a Clyde, the A-Squad does things their way - with sugar and spice -- forever changing their friendship, their future and the nation's notion of teen spirit. After all, as the girls bank-robbing cheer goes: "Cheerleader's kick!"
Set to a driving pop soundtrack, SUGAR & SPICE is a deliciously acid look at the sweet promises of youth directed by Australian filmmaker Francine McDougall (making her feature debut). The film features a high-spirited cast of rising young performers including Marley Shelton, James Marsden, Mena Suvari, Rachel Blanchard, Melissa George, Sarah Marsh and Alexandra Holden. The producer is Academy Award winner Wendy Finerman (Forrest Gump) and the executive producer is Greg Mooradian.