Sugar and Spice

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA)

for language, sex-related humor and some thematic elements.

Moral Rating:	Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:	Teen to Adult
Genre:	Drama Comedy
Length:
Year of Release:	2001
USA Release:	January 26, 2001

Featuring	Marley Shelton, James Marsden, Mena Suvari, Marla Sokoloff, Rachel Blanchard
Director	Francine McDougall
Producer	Wendy Finerman
Distributor	New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: In this very unladylike black comedy, the tight bond shared by five high school cheerleaders is strengthened when one of them becomes pregnant. Between schoolwork, cheerleading, and Lamaze class, the squad plots a heist to ensure the baby’s financial future. Little did they know their antics would become the talk of the nation.

…one of the characters in this movie states that pictures of Christ sweating on the cross stimulate her.

Adam, age 18

…One of the cheerleaders in this farce becomes pregnant, but she’s not the worst offender… One cheerleader is a trash-talker (actually, they all pretty much are, but she can’t utter two words together without a profanity in the middle). And one is a “Christian” (read: geeky and kind of dim… how else could Hollywood portray a “Christian?”) who works the Ouija board (”Because it takes a Christian virgin to make it work,” according to Trash) and who talks about her time riding horses with the nuns at a summer camp in a way that no parent would want their children to hear. I couldn’t believe this could be topped until the “Trash” said that the image of a shirtless Christ on the cross was what turned her on. That was enough for me and I left the theater. According to my friend, who stayed, it didn’t improve any from there.
My Ratings: [Extremely Offensive / 1½]

Gina Nick, age 37

What a waste of your time! …in the first place the girl gets pregnant who’s NOT MARRIED and is living with her boyfriend. Then she needs money, so her gang of ditzy cheerleaders robs the bank with her and the are proud of it? Also sex, abortion, and robbery are a big part of this movie. Throw in religious profanities and there you have it…
My Ratings: [Very Offensive / 2]

Laura, age 16

…the little “Christian” cheerleader makes sexual comments several times, yet claims virginity… mockery of Christianity, teenage pregnancy, explicit dreams and fantasies, discussions about menstruation, and lots of other sexually explicit jokes and comments cloud up Sugar and Spice. This film was a little to spicy for me.
My Ratings: [Very Offensive / 3]

K.E, age 13

The acting is about as good as that seen during a high-school play. The pregnancy does have a purpose… but the vulgarity and sexual language certainly do not. True artists don’t need to rely on cheep gimmicks like trash to make a good story.
My Ratings: [Very Offensive / 1½]

Red, age 17

…DISCUSSION TOPICS—Teenage pregnancy, abortion, robbery, ouija boards, menstruation, cheerleading, broken families, living together, one character is stereotypically gay…

Kids—n-Mind