Sugar and Spice (2001)

Sometimes you see the glimmer of what could have been in movies. In 2001, Sugar and Spice was supposed to be a movie about cheerleaders robbing a bank because one of them is pregnant and needs the money. It was very loosely based on a real-life event a few years earlier in Texas. But the specter of the Columbine shooting led to massive changes and cuts. Some of them quite evident, including an obvious dub to remove more R-rated language. Columbine’s shadow remains in America, but it was so much larger then and Hollywood was terrified of the backlash against a film where cheerleaders carrying guns is supposed to be comedy. It’s a movie that really wants to be Heathers for a new generation with commentary about high school and teen life. While it’s never allowed to quite get there, it’s a very breezy hour and 20 minutes with nice moments of fun. Mena Suvari was the movie’s biggest name at the time since she was coming off American Pie and American Beauty (yes, putting “American” in a movie’s title was a bigger deal in 1999), but all of the cast is very likeable. James Marsden was still early in his X-Men days and exudes tons of charm here. It’s so much harder to find in 2026 than it should be. And it’s not likely it will ever get a director’s cut, which is a shame. It would be great to be able to see the original version of the film and get the full experience it promises. Everyone has had a teen movie speak to them at one time or another, and this one could still speak to you now if it makes you remember those days in high school when any scheme seemed like a good idea.