# Spice World (1997)

### reviewed by
Jamie Peck

    SPICE WORLD

    RATING: ** (out of ****)

Columbia / 1:33 / 1998 / PG (brief nudity, innuendo) Cast: Victoria Adams; Melanie Brown; Emma Bunton; Melanie Chisholm; Geri Halliwell; Richard E. Grant; Alan Cumming; George Wendt; Mark McKinney; Naoko Mori; Roger Moore Director: Bob Spiers Screenplay: Kim Fuller

Hello. My name is Jamie, and I'm a Spiceaholic. Well, not really. Let's just say I'm a casual fan of the Spice Girls; I know they're not too deep or challenging, but their British bubblegum bounce is good enough to keep me on the stairmaster for a long while. (And, a definite plus, group members Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton, Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm, Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams and Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown are all easy on the eyes.) I fearlessly admit that I'm familiar with their music, and now I'm familiar with "Spice World," their feature film debut, as well. A kind of hybrid between "A Hard Day's Night," "Clueless" and the "Naked Gun" movies, "Spice World" isn't quite tasty, nor does it leave you with a bad case of indigestion. It's alright, but I'd probably rather be on the stairmaster listening to them than sit through their movie again.

There isn't much of a story here, as "Spice World" is basically a series of interchangeable, scattershot skits and spoofs stuck between some adequately spirited musical numbers. The movie is framed around a hectic couple of days for the girls, as they ready themselves for a big concert in England. Along the way, there are dozens of potential comedic catastrophes -- a documentarian (Alan Cumming) trails the group endlessly, a pregnant pal (Naoko Mori) prepares to give birth and sleazy tabloid types conspire the end of the Spice Girls for good, all while a mysterious, T.J. Eckelberg-like figure (Roger Moore) watches from above. And of course Posh, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Sporty are in just about every scene, talking about clothes, guys and "girl power" whenever they aren't singing.

Perhaps the big question mark here is regarding the Spice Girls' acting capabilities, but I'm not too sure of the answer. They're not thespians (hey, neither were the Beatles), but they boast a perky, self-depreciating buoyance that's sort of difficult to deny. The rest of the cast is nice enough to acknowledge that this isn't their show, with George Wendt and Mark McKinney getting the best bits as American filmmakers on a quest to convince the quintet to make their American movie debut. Meatloaf seems to be cast as their tour driver simply so he can make groan-inducing allusions to his album playlists, while weird Richard E. Grant ("Bram Stoker's Dracula"), as the Spice Girls' manager, is decked out in so many emerald suits he looks like a refugee from Oz. And those familiar with the British entertainment scene will note sometimes-clever, sometimes-not cameos by the likes of Bob Geldof, Stephen Fry, Bob Hoskins and Jennifer Saunders.

The fundamental problem with "Spice World" is an even hit-or-miss gag ratio. For every moment that scores (a hilarious faux-movie trailer for an action flick called "Spice Force Five"), there's one that comes close to embarrassment (the ladies' impromptu performance of their hit "Wannabe" in a coffee shop-flashback). The best sequences arguably come whenever the Spice Girls are holed up inside their tour bus, which is modeled after the British flag. They poke the most fun at themselves here; watch each's reaction when one whines that the media has a tendency to stereotype them too often. Around the 45-minute mark, things seem to screech to a halt, certainly not helped by a dwindling sense of humor (what's up with that goofy labor scene?) or stuff that's just too stupid to work (what's up with that dopey alien encounter?). At least the film is capped-off nicely with a vibrant live rendition of their current tune "Spice Up Your Life."

"Spice World" definitely isn't going to win any of the gals' detractors over, and it isn't likely to sway those who are neutral one way or the other. Those seeking a message or any kind of social relevance had better look elsewhere; the closest "Spice World" comes to either of those is a sequence that illustrates the dangers of driving a bomb-equipped bus in stiletto heels. It's an hour-and-a-half of brainless comedy and music, starring five pleasant-looking pop divas who don't seem to fear self-parody. And that's presumably all that die-hard Spice fans really, really want.

© 1998 Jamie Peck E-mail: jpeck1@gl.umbc.edu Visit the Reel Deal Online: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~jpeck1/

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