Sugar & Spice

Gimme an S! (Sophomoric Sexual Silliness). Gimme a U! (Unsurpassably Uncouth Utterings from Unsophisticated Underclassmen). Gimme a G! (Gratuitously Gauche Grrl Gags). Gimme an A! (Amazing Amounts of Anti-gay Acrimony). Gimme an R! (Relentlessly Rigorous Rah-Rah Routines). Gimme an S! (Somewhat Satirical and Scathing Send-up of Saucy Schoolgirl Solidarity). Gimme a P! (Pathetically Prurient Pregnancy-and-Period Puns). Gimme an I! (Insufferable Infusions of Ill-conceived Innuendo). Gimme a C! (Cheerleaders Choose to Champion their Cherry-Cheeked Captain by Committing Crimes Concealed in Clever Cute Costumes). Gimme an E! (Egregiously Exploitative yet Engaging Example of Existing Expressions of Entertainment).

Directed by first-timer Francine McDougall, this bit of cotton candy goes where Porky's, Heathers, Ten Things I Hate About You, The Opposite of Sex, and But I'm a Cheerleader have already gone before. When their captain (Marley Shelton) gets pregnant by the star quarterback (James Marsden), the rest of the Lincoln High cheerleading team (Rachel Blanchard, Mena Suvari, Sara Marsh, Melissa George) rob a bank to help out; narration is provided by a jealous outsider (Marla Sokoloff) who's become a police informer. Funny and cute, but the self- conscious political incorrectness grates after a while . . . say, 10 minutes. At the Apple Valley, Hoyts Providence 16, Showcase, and Swansea cinemas.
-- Peg Aloi