A Hard Day’s Spice: Viva Forever Spice World (1997)

In 1999, Nelson Mandela said of the Spice Girls: “These are my heroes.” If you were alive in the ‘90s then you likely already know that Spicemania was real and we all caught it.

The five-member pop group took over late ‘90s pop culture and became the best-selling girl group of all time. I was the group’s exact target audience, and their “Girl Power” philosophy and colorful personas drew me in as a young girl at the time. Their debut album, Spice, was one of the first records that I ever owned—on cassette tape no less. I collected books and magazines that documented their every move and outfit. A common discussion in cafeterias and playgrounds across the world in the late ‘90s often centered around one very important question: Which Spice Girl are you? As a lifelong tomboy myself, Sporty Spice was my favorite. 

I remember my younger sister and I went to see their feature film Spice World when it hit theaters in 1997. Arms loaded with candy, we laughed, sang along and noticed that even the adults in the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. Director Bob Spiers and writer Kim Fuller clearly understood the need to appeal to everyone in the audience, including those being dragged to the cinema.

The plot of Spice World is simple but the journey is anything but: five days in the life of the Spice Girls as they prepare for their first live concert at London's Royal Albert Hall while being hounded by fans, the press, a documentary film crew and a couple of Hollywood filmmakers that want to make a movie with the group (how meta!). The Spice Girls play parody versions of themselves. Geri Haliwell (Ginger Spice) told Rolling Stone magazine in 1997 that they were portraying “a pisstake of ourselves. It’s an adventure; it’s a thriller; it’s a comedy. It’s like us under a microscope and then through a telescope.” The Girls get into shenanigans, crack jokes, argue with their manager, meet some aliens, go clubbing, attend a boot camp, stay in a haunted house and there’s even a high speed sequence with their double decker tour bus through London.

This musical comedy is jam-packed with cameos, dream sequences, flashbacks, musical numbers and silly humor. As someone who grew up on a steady diet of British comedies like Absolutely Fabulous and Mr. Bean, I can attest several rewatches later that this one still holds up. I also appreciate that Spice World knows exactly what kind of film it is: a deeply unserious one. Unlike other pop-star films, it is completely cheeky from start to finish and doesn’t take itself seriously for one minute—which is a large part of the charm of the Spice Girls themselves. Geri, Emma, Victoria, Mel C and Mel B may not have been the most experienced actors at the time but their chemistry and natural charisma carry the film, and they clearly had a blast making it together.

Essentially, Spice World is an updated version of The Beatles’ A Hard Days Night (1964). While Hard Days is a comical pastiche of a day in the life of John, Paul, George and Ringo, Spice World pokes fun at both the popstars and the entertainment industry itself. 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats also utilized this concept, and both films turned out smarter than they ever needed to be for what are essentially fun popcorn flicks for kids and young adults. Both films were also unfairly maligned by critics at the time and accused of being nothing more than a music industry cash grab. In a way they were, but I believe that’s an overly cynical take on what are ultimately just lighthearted love letters to their respective fanbases. Both films are also about friendship and when you are a kid your friendships are the most important thing in the world to you. My sister and I loved Spice World and it only made us into even bigger fans of the group. It appeared that we were not alone as seemingly everyone at my school was talking about this silly musical comedy and once it was released on home video it was always in rotation at friends' slumber parties.

Negative contemporary reviews aside, the film was a massive success at the box office: Spice World is still the highest-grossing film of all time by a musical group. Despite this and the film’s current cult status, Spice World is practically never available on streaming platforms, likely due to music rights issues. It’s always been available on physical media, however—I own both a DVD and VHS copy myself.

The Spice Girls have been spicing up my life for over 25 years now. I’ve hosted Spice World watch parties for friends, dragged coworkers into singing their songs with me at karaoke nights and even convinced my local gay club to throw a Spice Girls-themed roller skate event in honor of the 25th anniversary of the film and album last year. As I rolled around the rink dressed up as Sporty Spice, naturally, I took in everyone’s costumes and smiling faces and reflected on the positive impact this influential group continues to have on my generation and beyond. Never give up on the good times, all you need is positivity, blah blah blah, Girl Power, Feminism, you know what I mean? Zig-a-zig-ah.

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