`Sugar and Spice' is a superior black comedy about a high school cheerleading squad who robs a supermarket bank branch. Sharp and, and at times, wickedly funny, this is the movie `Legally Blonde' was supposed to be.
Marley Shelton who plays Diane, the squad leader, looks like a cross between Heather Graham (minus the prominent frontal outcroppings) and Reese Witherspoon (minus the `Howdy Doody' jaw). Shelton's comic delivery is every bit as deft as Reese's and she lacks Witherspoon's slight air of superiority. She's the acting glue that hold's this movie together. Also, very effective in far fewer scenes is James Marsden, playing the sweetly lunkheaded quarterback and Sean Young (SHOCK) as Mena Suvari's murderous mother. Melissa George, Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Rachel Blanchard and Alexandra Holden also give solid support. The only weak link is Marla Sokoloff as the squad's nemesis. Even with her "work," she barely registers compared with the other girls. Also, the film is slightly marred by an abrupt, though reasonably plausible (for a satirical farce) ending, `Sugar and Spice' delivers the goods. It's `Legally Blonde' without the political correctness; or, as the squad might chant, `LB without the PC'.
Marley Shelton who plays Diane, the squad leader, looks like a cross between Heather Graham (minus the prominent frontal outcroppings) and Reese Witherspoon (minus the `Howdy Doody' jaw). Shelton's comic delivery is every bit as deft as Reese's and she lacks Witherspoon's slight air of superiority. She's the acting glue that hold's this movie together. Also, very effective in far fewer scenes is James Marsden, playing the sweetly lunkheaded quarterback and Sean Young (SHOCK) as Mena Suvari's murderous mother. Melissa George, Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Rachel Blanchard and Alexandra Holden also give solid support. The only weak link is Marla Sokoloff as the squad's nemesis. Even with her "work," she barely registers compared with the other girls. Also, the film is slightly marred by an abrupt, though reasonably plausible (for a satirical farce) ending, `Sugar and Spice' delivers the goods. It's `Legally Blonde' without the political correctness; or, as the squad might chant, `LB without the PC'.