Sugar & Spice

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia.
Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(December 2007)
For other uses, see Sugar and Spice (disambiguation).
Sugar & Spice
Directed by Francine McDougall
Produced by Wendy Finerman
Written by Mandy Nelson
Starring Marla Sokoloff,
Marley Shelton,
Mena Suvari,
Melissa George,
Rachel Blanchard
Distributed by New Line Cinema
Release date(s) 26 January 2001 (USA)
Running time 81 min
Language English
Budget ~ US$11,000,000
IMDb profile

Sugar & Spice is a 2001 feature film directed by Francine McDougall. It was filmed entirely in the Minnesota cities of Anoka, Apple Valley, Eagan, and St Paul.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot

Diane Weston (Marley Shelton) is a popular high school cheerleader whose life revolves around her boyfriend Jack (James Marsden) and cheerleading, as she is the captain of her school's cheerleading "A-Squad". However, when Diane becomes pregnant by Jack, her life falls apart as her parents disown her and kick her out of their home. Moving in with Jack, the two quickly get jobs (Jack working in a video store, Diane as a bank teller in a grocery store's in-house bank). Diane quickly realizes that Jack is too naive, when it comes to finances, in order to provide Diane and their child with the life she feels is entitled to her. Diane confides to her fellow cheerleaders about her problems and the group come up with an illegal way for Diane to make the money she needs to support her family: robbing banks.

With advice provided by the imprisoned mother of a fellow cheerleader (Mena Suvari), Diane and her friends don matching spandex bodysuits and identical blonde latex masks and rob a grocery store bank. Dubbed "The Betty Gang" by the media, the group successfully carry out the heist but not before rival B-Squad cheerleader Lisa Janusch discovers that her nemesis Diane and her friends are The Betty Gang. Though she goes to the police with the information, Diane confronts Lisa off-camera before the group are arrested and makes a deal with her: in exchange for Lisa providing the group an alibi and recanting all prior statements to the police, Diane will resign from the A-Squad and personally promote Lisa not only to A-Squad status, but also as the new A-Squad leader.

During the film's epilogue, it is revealed that Diane ultimately tells Jack that her share of the stolen money was won via the lottery. Jack believes Diane and the two marry. Jack goes on to become a senator, and Diane reconciles with her family, who proceed to set up a scholarship for pregnant teenagers.

[edit] Trivia

  • Lona Williams wrote the original screenplay for this movie, and was an executive producer. After a falling out with producers, her name was removed from the project.
  • The premiere of the movie was held in Minnesota, where the movie was filmed. The entire audience was given Betty Doll masks, like the ones the girls used to rob the bank in the movie.
  • Writing credits were changed to Mandy Nelson when publicity for the film began.
  • References are made to the films Backdraft (1991) and Scream (1996), both staring W. Earl Brown, who plays the Terminator in this film.
  • The "illegal" dismount in the bank isn't really illegal. A cradle with 2 catchers from shoulder height does not require a separate head and shoulders spotter. Extended stunts (when the bases' arms are extended up over their heads) require the extra spotter.
  • The characters of Jack and Diane seem to be named after the fictional characters of John Mellencamp's song: "Jack and Diane".
  • When Conan O'Brien was told that the character of Cleo was to be obsessed with him, he happily agreed to pose for a picture with Melissa George in character. A still photograph of O'Brien and Cleo is shown during the closing credits.
  • Sugar and Spice was first suppose to be a black comedy about murdering for money but the producers thought that this plot was to similar to the 1999 teen black comedy Jawbreaker so the screenwriter re-wrote the script to what it is now. Mena Suvari has said, "Even though it doesn't have murder it's still was influenced by the movie Heathers."

[edit] Betties

  • Diane - "Mood Swing" Betty
  • Kansas - "White Trash" Betty
  • Cleo - "Stalker" Betty
  • Hannah - "Virgin" Betty (with optional horse and saddle)
  • Fern - "Terminator" Betty
  • Lucy - Richard Nixon

[edit] Memorable quotes

Diane: Nobody ever got ahead by sitting on their behinds!

Lisa Janusch: [while watching a group of girls do cheerleading moves while robbing the bank] That's an illegal dismount.

Hannah: [reading card] Be careful, have fun. Ski masks are so done. Use these masks to fight the power and never bend over in the shower.

Hannah: I'm sorry, can someone else please run the board? It's creepy, it's wrong, and it goes against the teachings of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Kansas: Hannah, in order to get real answers from the Netherworld, you've gotta have a Christian virgin run the board. Your kind is pure of heart, the devil won't dick with you

Lucy Whitman: You just became a statistic.
Kansas: Oh, my god. I'm not the first.

Diane: Morning sunshine, remember, these are the best days of your life so far.

Kansas: We have to learn from a real criminal. I'm going to visit my mom.

[edit] External links