Spice World (film)

Spice World
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bob Spiers
Produced by	Uri Fruchtmann Barnaby Thompson
Written by	Kim Fuller Jamie Curtis
Starring	Victoria Beckham Melanie Brown Emma Bunton Melanie Chisholm Geri Halliwell
Music by	Paul Hardcastle
Cinematography	Clive Tickner
Editing by	Andrea MacArthur
Studio	Icon Entertainment International
Distributed by	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (UK) Columbia Pictures (US)
Release date(s)	26 December 1997 (1997-12-26)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$75,342,592

Spice World is a 1997 musical comedy film directed by Bob Spiers, written by Kim Fuller and Jamie Curtis, and starring the best-selling pop girl group the Spice Girls. The lighthearted comedy, made in a similar vein to The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, depicts 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. The film premiered on 15 December 1997 and was released in British cinemas on Boxing Day, followed by the North American release (distributed by Columbia Pictures) on 23 January 1998. Despite it being successful at the box office, the film garnered negative reviews. However, it has since become a cult classic due to home video releases.

Plot

The film begins when the Spice Girls are performing their song "Too Much" at the Top of the Pops, but they become dissatisfied with the burdens of it. The sinister newspaper owner, Kevin McMaxford (Barry Humphries), is attmempting to ruin the girls' reputation in order to cash in on the headlines 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 concert at the Albert Hall, their biggest performance in 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 best friend, Nicola (Naoko Mori), who is due to give birth soon. Throughout their busy schedule, the girls keep asking Clifford for time off to spend with Nicola and to relax, but Clifford refuses, mainly because his own boss, the cryptic and eccentric "Chief" (Roger Moore), would not allow it. The stress and overwork compound, culminating in a huge argument with Clifford, the girls' assistant, Deborah (Claire Rushbrook), and among the band mates; the girls storm out on the evening before their concert at the Albert Hall the next day.

Separately, the girls think back on their humble beginnings, their struggle to the top, and their strengthened friendship. They eventually reunite by chance outside the now-closed pub where they have practised in their early years, 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. The girls decided to stay at the hospital to provide Nicola with support, refusing to perform at the Albert Hall until after Nicola has given birth. The next morning, the day of the girls' Albert Hall gig, Nicola finally gives birth to a girl. As the girls are preparing to leave the hospital for their Albert Hall gig, they bump into a doctor, but when Emma notices he has a camera, the girls realize the doctor 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 drive herself. So, it becomes a race against time as Victoria drives like a maniac, screaming: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" to innocent bystanders. Along the way to the Albert Hall, the bus drives by Buckingham Palace and the girls all wave to the Royal Family. The girls ends up on the roof of the bus and fall through its sunroof, collapsing onto each other in a pile after Victoria puts her foot down on the accelerator pedal. While approaching to the Tower Bridge, it starts to go up to let a boat through. Victoria decides to drive up the bridge and over the gap, in a low-tech clip. 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, but they 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 is pushed forward, and she tells him that she and the other girls were late for their performance. Emma smiles at him, and the policeman lets the girls off.

The film ends when the girls perform their song "Spice Up Your Life". Footage airs during the closing credits of the supporting cast talking about the girls' film and interviewing with them. 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 various things about their film. Victoria says to a certain woman in the audience: "Hey, you. No, not you, behind you. Yeah, to the left a bit. I like your dress. Is that a Gucci one?"; Mel B says: "C&A, mate"; Emma says: "Do you know what some people are watching this on video, is there nothing on telly then?!"; Geri says: "Yeah, but you know what they're wondering now, don't you?"; when Mel C suddenly asks: "What happened to the bomb on the bus?!", her question is answered by a loud explosion from the distance.

Cast

• The Spice Girls
  • Victoria Beckham
  • Melanie Brown
  • Emma Bunton
  • Melanie Chisholm
  • Geri Halliwell
• Richard E. Grant as Clifford, the girls' manager
• Claire Rushbrook as Deborah, the girls' assistant
• Roger Moore as The Chief, the head of the girls' record label, never seen without his white Persian cat (similar to the James Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld
• Naoko Mori as Nicola, the girls' best friend
• Meat Loaf as Dennis, the girls' bus driver
• Barry Humphries as Kevin McMaxford, the sinister newspaper owner who attempt to ruin the girls' reputation in order to cash in on the headlines.
• Richard O'Brien as Damien, a paparazzi photographer who takes pictures and tape recordings of the girls.
• Alan Cumming as Piers Cuthbertson-Smyth, a film director who stalks the girls and hoping to use them as documentary subjects.
• George Wendt and Mark McKinney as Martin Barnfield and Graydon, Hollywood writers who relentlessly pitch absurd plot ideas for the girls' film.
• Michael Barrymore as Mr. Step, the choreographer
• Jools Holland as Musical director
• Kevin McNally as Policeman, who charged the girls with: "dangerous driving, criminal damage, flying a bus without a license, and frightening the pigeons".
• Kevin Allen as Gainer, television director
• Peter Sissons as Newsreader
• Stephen Fry as Judge
• Richard Briers as Bishop
• Dominic West as Photographer
• Bill Paterson as Brian

Cameos

• Jonathan Ross
• Elvis Costello
• Elton John
• Bob Geldof
• Bob Hoskins
• Jennifer Saunders
• Hugh Laurie
• Stephen Fry

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 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 offenses. The Spice Girls and the production team agreed that his cameo should be deleted from the final print. However, the girls were shown performing Glitter's "Leader of the Gang".

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 before its release.

Release

Box office

Spice World took in US$75 million dollars at the worldwide box office, including $29,342,592 in the U.S.

Critical reception

Reception
Review scores
Publication	Score
Allmovie
Rotten Tomatoes	(29%)

Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics. The Spice Girls each won the award for Worst Actress at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards. It also received nominations for Worst Picture, Worst New Star (Spice Girls), Worst Supporting Actor (Roger Moore), Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Couple ("any combination of two people, body parts or fashion accessories"), and Worst Original Song ("Too Much").

Film aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave Spice World a "rotten" rating of 29%. AllMovie gave it a 2/5 stars.

Noted American film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 0.5/4 stars 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."

Although it got a negative reception from critics, the movie received a cult following, as well as earning positive reviews from fans thanks to Columbia TriStar Home Video's home video releases of the film.

Home media

Spice World - The 10th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD on 19 November 2007 in the UK and Australia and 27 November 2007 in the U.S.

Cultural references

• Among the many in-jokes is Dennis saying, when asked to fix the toilets, that he'd do anything for the girls, "but I won't do that!", a reference to Meat Loaf's single, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".
• The film reunited Meat Loaf and Richard O'Brien from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• The film also reunited O'Brien and Barry Humphries from Rocky Horror's "sequel", Shock Treatment.
• Victoria's big bus chase scene is a spoof of Speed.
• The Bus itself shares properties with Doctor Who's TARDIS - it is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
• Sir Roger Moore's character of the Chief shares cinematic tropes of Ernst Stavro Blofeld - namely, a big plush rotating chair, and a pet white fluffy persian cat.
• Geri can be seen watching The Strange Love of Martha Ivers in her hotel room.
• The scene where Emma is sleeping, a "Ch, ch, ch, ha, ha, ha" can be heard; this is a reference to Friday the 13th.
• In a dream sequence about becoming Mothers Victoria resembles Absolutely Fabulous character Patsy.

Soundtrack

• "Too Much" (opening titles)
• "Do It"
• "Say You'll Be There" (concert version)
• "Mama"
• "Denying"
• "Saturday Night Divas"
• "Stop"
• "2 Become 1"
• "Leader of the Gang"
• "Never Give Up on the Good Times"
• "Sound Off"
• "My Boy Lollipop" - Millie Small
• "Viva Forever"
• "Wannabe" (demo version)
• "Who Do You Think You Are" (Morales Club Mix)
• "Spice Up Your Life"
• "The Lady is a Vamp" (closing titles)

External links

• Spice World at the Internet Movie Database
• Spice World at AllRovi
• Spice World at Box Office Mojo
• Spice World at Rotten Tomatoes
• Review from the New York Times
• Review from the San Francisco Chronicle