Sugar & Spice (2001)

Sugar & Spice is special because it takes the glossy, rah-rah cheerleader fantasy and flips it into a wickedly funny little crime caper with a sharp satirical bite. Francine McDougall keeps the vibe bright and poppy even as the story turns darkly absurd, and the cast sells the premise with straight-faced commitment—Marley Shelton anchoring the chaos while the squad’s chemistry makes the whole scheme feel weirdly plausible. It’s smart about how it skewers small-town morality, teen “perfection,” and the way adults look the other way until things get messy, all while delivering genuinely punchy laughs. If you’re allergic to PG-13 sex jokes or don’t like comedies that flirt with bad behavior, it may not be your flavor—but if you want a mischievous, off-center teen movie that actually has teeth, this one goes down easy.

Sugar & Spice is clearly trying to mash up a teen cheerleader movie with a light heist caper, using the “best friends would do anything” angle to keep the crime stuff cute and satirical. The problem is the tone wobbles between comedy, drama, and “aren’t teens wild?” commentary, so the jokes often land flat and the whole thing can feel oddly irresponsible when guns and robbery are played for breezy laughs. If you’re looking for a sharp, genuinely funny teen crime comedy or anything with a strong moral compass, this will probably irritate you with its predictable beats and shruggy consequences. Still, the cast has energy and the premise is catchy enough that if you like early-2000s teen satire and don’t need the script to be clever, it can be a low-stakes watch.