Spice World is a 1997 British-American musical comedy film directed by Bob Spiers and written by Kim Fuller and Jamie Curtis. The film stars pop girl group the Spice Girls who all play their respective selves in the film. The lighthearted comedy â€" made in a similar vein to The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night (1964) â€" depicts a series of fictional events leading up to a major concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, liberally interspersed with dream sequences and flashbacks as well as surreal moments and humorous asides.
This is the second feature-length film directed by Spiers, following That Darn Cat. The film features Richard E. Grant, Claire Rushbrook, Naoko Mori, Meat Loaf, Barry Humphries, and Alan Cumming in supporting roles. Principal photography took place in London, England for six of the eight filming weeks and also inside Twickenham Studios, as well as at over 40 famous British landmarks. Filming featured several fourteen hour shooting sessions and a constant, heavy media presence due to the Spice Girls' large popularity at the time.
The film premiered on 15 December 1997 and was later released in British cinemas eleven days later on the British holiday Boxing Day. In North America, the film was distributed by Columbia Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, and Icon Entertainment International and premiered on 23 January 1998. In the United States, Spice World became a box office hit and broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut for Super Bowl Weekend with box office sales of $10,527,222. The movie took in total $77Â million at the box office worldwide and over $100Â million when including DVD Sales. Despite being a box office success, the film received primarily negative reviews.
Plot
The film begins when the Spice Girls perform their song "Too Much" on Top of the Pops, but they later become dissatisfied with the burdens of it. The sinister newspaper owner, Kevin McMaxford (Barry Humphries), is attempting to ruin the girls' reputation and even dispatches a photographer, Damien (Richard O'Brien), to take pictures and tape recordings of the girls. Less threatening but more annoying is a film director, Piers Cuthbertson-Smyth (Alan Cumming), who stalks the girls along with his crew, hoping to use them as documentary subjects. At the same time, the girls' manager, Clifford (Richard E. Grant), is fending off two overeager Hollywood writers, Martin Barnfield and Graydon (George Wendt and Mark McKinney), who relentlessly pitch absurd plot ideas for the girls' film.
Amid this, the girls must prepare for their live concert at the Albert Hall, the biggest performance of their career. At the heart of it, the constant practices, traveling, publicity appearances, and other burdens of celebrity affect the girls on a personal level, preventing them from spending much time with their pregnant best friend, Nicola (Naoko Mori), who is due to give birth soon. Throughout the busy schedule, the girls attempt to ask Clifford for time off to spend with Nicola and relax, but Clifford refuses after talking with the head of the girls' record label, the cryptic and eccentric "Chief" (Roger Moore). The stress and overwork compound, which culminate in a huge argument between Clifford and the girls; the girls suddenly storm out on the evening before their gig at the Albert Hall.
The girls separately think back on their humble beginnings and their struggle to the top. They reunite by chance outside the abandoned pub where they practised during their childhood years, they reconcile, and decide to take Nicola out dancing. However, Nicola goes into labour at the nightclub and is rushed to the hospital in the girls' bus. When Emma notices that the Doctor has a camera, the girls realize that he is Damien, who runs off with the girls in hot pursuit, only to hit his head after accidentally colliding with an empty stretcher. When Damien sees the girls standing over him, he tells them that they have made him see the error of his ways, and he goes after McMaxford, who is subsequently fired in a "Jacuzzi Scandal".
After noticing the girls' bus driver, Dennis (Meat Loaf) is missing, Victoria decides to take the wheel. It becomes a race against time as Victoria drives like a maniac. While approaching Tower Bridge, the bridge begins to raise to let a boat through the River Thames. Victoria drives up the bridge and over the gap. The bus finally lands safely on the other side, but when Emma opens a trapdoor in the floor, she discovers a bomb, and the girls scream before Emma slams the trapdoor shut again.
The girls finally arrive at the Albert Hall for their performance and run up the steps to the Rocky theme. However, the girls have one more obstacle to overcome: a London policeman (Kevin McNally) charged the girls with: "dangerous driving, criminal damage, flying a bus without a license, and frightening the pigeons". Emma pushes forward and tells the policeman that she and the other girls were late for their performance at the Albert Hall. Emma smiles at the policeman, and he lets the girls off for their performance. The film ends when the girls perform their song "Spice Up Your Life" at the centre stage of the Albert Hall.
The supporting cast later talk about the girls' film during the closing credits. Mel C breaks the fourth wall and tells the other girls that the outgoing audience is watching them. The girls talk to the audience and discuss their film, just minutes before the bomb in their bus explodes.
Cast
Music
An official motion picture soundtrack hasn't been released, since their second studio album Spiceworld was released at that time, heavy promoted and served as the film's soundtrack. The songs appearing in the film are in order of appearance.
- Spice Girls - "Too Much (Spice World Version)" (Opening sequence)
- Spice Girls - "Do It"
- Spice Girls - "Say You'll Be There (Unplugged Concert Version)"
- Spice Girls - "Mama"
- Spice Girls - "Denying"
- Spice Girls - "Saturday Night Divas"
- Spice Girls - "Stop"
- Spice Girls - "2 Become 1"
- Spice Girls - "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)"
- Spice Girls - "Never Give Up on the Good Times"
- Spice Girls - "Sound Off"
- Millie Small - "My Boy Lollipop"
- Spice Girls - "Viva Forever"
- Spice Girls - "Wannabe (Demo Version)"
- Spice Girls - "Who Do You Think You Are (Morales Club Mix Edit)"
- Spice Girls - "Spice Up Your Life (Live @ Albert Hall)"
- Spice Girls - "The Lady is a Vamp" (Closing titles)
Production
Director Bob Spiers had been working in America on the Disney film That Darn Cat at the peak of the Spice Girls' popularity. He was unaware of the group when first offered the job until his friend Jennifer Saunders advised that he take it. He arrived at a meeting with them in a New York hotel unaware of what they looked like.
Gary Glitter filmed a four-minute cameo appearance as himself, but shortly before the film was to be released he was arrested on child porn offences. The Spice Girls and the production team agreed that his cameo should be deleted from the final print (this was to prevent prosecution for contempt of court, as Glitter's appearance could be prejudicial to any trial for child sexual abuse). The performance of Glitter's "Leader of the Gang" was retained.
Frank Bruno was originally cast as the tour bus driver, but withdrew from the film after a security guard prevented his son Franklin from having an on-set photo taken with the girls.
Two real-world deaths after filming prompted edits to the film. Mentions of Princess Diana and scenes including the designer Gianni Versace were made in the film but cut out because they were both alive when the film was made but both died prior to release.
The film reunited Meat Loaf and Richard O'Brien, who costarred in the 1975 classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The film also reunited O'Brien and Barry Humphries, who costarred in the Rocky Horror semi-sequel, Shock Treatment.
The Spice Bus
On 18 July 2014, The Spice Bus used in the film was put on permanent display at Island Harbour Marina, on the Isle of Wight, England.
Release
Box office
Spice World was a hit at the box office breaking the record for the highest-ever weekend debut for Super Bowl Weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. The movie took in total $77Â million at the box office worldwide.
Critical reception
Film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave Spice World a rating of 29% based on reviews from 34 critics. AllMovie gave it 2/5 stars.
Noted American film critic Roger Ebert gave the film one-half of a star and listed Spice World as one of his most hated films, saying: "The Spice Girls are easier to tell apart than the Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that is small consolation: What can you say about five women whose principal distinguishing characteristic is that they have different names? They occupy "Spice World" as if they were watching it: They're so detached they can't even successfully lip-synch their own songs." And when he reviewed the film on his and Gene Siskel's film critique programme Siskel & Ebert, only 3 weeks into the year 1998, he declared that he had already seen the worst film of that year, and called it "an entertainment-free dead zone". Ebert would include this film on the Worst of 1998 special; but he chose Armageddon as the worst film of 1998.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated that the film "is pleasant and painless enough to amuse ardent fans, who figure in the film quite often." She also noted that while it got a PG rating in the United States, "nothing about it should disturb its target audience of media-wise, fun-loving 8-year-old girls."
Writing for Sight and Sound, in a positive review, Mark Sinker placed it alongside The Monkees' 1968 cult film Head. He went on to say that it "sends up the amiable idiocy of pop packaging - and the slow witted mass-media response to it" and it was "tirelessly generous in its energy".
The film has been listed in Golden Raspberry Awards founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made".
Awards and nominations
Home media
Spice World â€" The 10th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD on 19 November 2007 in the UK and Australia and 27 November 2007 in the US.
References
External links
- Spice World at the Internet Movie Database
- Spice World at Box Office Mojo
- Spice World at Rotten Tomatoes
- Peter Stack (23 January 1998). "Spicy Does It / Spice Girls dedicate themselves to the pursuit of fun in new movie".Â
- Good Bad Flicks review