Spice World (1998)

Really Surprised!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Spice World (1997) 1/2 (out of 4) This here is pretty much a variation on A HARD DAY'S NIGHT but this time instead of John, Paul, George and Ringo we get Baby, Sporty, Ginger, Posh and Scary. Most movies made feature a credit that will read something to the effect of "story by..." but not this one. No, that credit is actually replaced by one that reads "idea by..." and that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Really? The biggest pop female pop band that the world has ever seen and one that apparently made between $600-$800 million can only come up with a movie based on an idea? I guess it really doesn't matter that SPICE WORLD has been called one of the worst movies ever made because their fans ate it up when it was released and apparently they are still very fond of it. I guess if I was a die-hard fan of the group then I'd enjoy seeing them in anything no matter how bad it actually was. What makes this film so bad is that there really doesn't seem to be any idea of what this movie is supposed to be about. I'm sure it was an attempt to milk the success of the band and that's understandable. I just wish we had actually gotten a backstage look at the lives they were going through or at least gave us some sort of realistic look at the band. Instead we basically just get one long music video where the girls play their music and get to try on many different outfits. Nothing the five girls say are funny. Nothing they say is very interesting. In fact, nothing they do is all that entertaining. The movie actually reaches a level where it becomes painful to sit through it any longer. Heck, the girls can even lip-sync their songs and that well. SPICE WORLD doesn't quite earn a BOMB ranking thanks in large part to the girls being cute and wearing tight clothes but you can look at a magazine for this. The film itself is quite bad and sadly it never reaches a level to where you can just laugh at it.

I was doubtful about this movie but my daughter insisted we watch it together. I was amazed at how art house it was – with throw backs to the old Beatles movie genre and other madcap '70's and 80's productions (Thunderbirds, the Monkees, etc). Apart from the catchy music and the generally enjoyable overacting – the all star cast makes it a genuine 'spot the actor' vehicle. (For example: this from http://filmbabble. blogspot.com/2007/06/20 -great-modern-movie-cameos.html : "Elvis Costello as a bartender and credited as 'Himself' Costello plays a nice tongue-in-cheek note as the Girls talk about their possible flash-in-the-pan prospects".) It spoofs everything about those bad movies we loved to watch – model buses jumping over model bridges, E.T. (the Movie) in 'bad green coats', the Magical Mystery Tour amazing bus, media moguls (Rupert Murdoch anyone?), Hollywood 'run and go' action movies, over-sexed Italian dancers etc. The more I watched the more I saw. I drove my daughter crazy pointing out ... 'hey that is a takeoff from ...'. If you are studying cinema or just have a movie trivia interest, Spice World certainly gives you more to argue about than Citizen Kain (sorry Orsen) or Pret-a-Porter (apologies to Robert too). If this movie was written by the Directors wife – she was a movie buff. It is better than you think!

Being a bit of a film fanatic, I was always of the opinion that no matter what the film, good or bad, it's worth watching. You can delight in the great ones and laugh at the ones that were really really awful. This film changed that opinion. I tried, but unlike any other film, I could not find it funny that I wasted my time watching it.It has NO plot. The acting was not just bad, it was so bad it made their singing ability look good... and they were playing themselves! Really, how hard can that be? Don't get me wrong, I'm aware it was suppose to be silly and not taken seriously, but I'm pretty sure it was also suppose to be entertaining... which it wasn't. It just bounced from boring scene to boring scene not linking them in anyway.Even if you like the spice girls, no amount of nostalgia would be worth watching this film. If you're looking for a walk down memory lane your better off watching Bugsy Malone, Labyrinth, Moonwalker, pretty much anything from the early 90s. Besides, this film made me forget what I liked about the spice girls in the first place. After watching this film, I went from a secret fan, to seeing the spice girls as the people that got me to spend my time and money on the worst film ever made.

I loved this film when I was seven and I still love it today. I think that for any Spice Girls fan, this was a great movie. The acting may not have been Oscar worthy, but I feel they did a great job making their audience laugh acting as themselves. Though some of the scenes could be considered corny or out of place, this film was overall very entertaining to its target audience: the fans. It is not for everyone. Just as I will never love the movie Purple Rain as much as my mother did due to her generation's love for Prince, not many will love Spice World the way Spice Girls fans do.The Spice Girls were positive role models in the 90's for girls like me. Scary Spice inspired me to love my huge curly hair. Sporty Spice inspired me to embrace my inner tom-boy. Their songs were catchy and widely popular for a while. Their movie venture may not have been as successful as their songs. However, it was not a total flop. Spice World had a wacky but interesting story line and a few compelling sub-story lines. This will always be considered one of my favorite movies