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It may be hard to believe, but Boxing Day marks 25 years since the greatest film of all time – Spice World: The Movie – hit cinemas in the UK.
That’s right, it’s been a whole quarter of a century since Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty strapped on their platform shoes, hijacked a Union Jack bus and spiced up all of our lives.
Despite having a cult following and being regarded highly by Spice Girls fans the world over, the movie failed to impress critics at the time, with the five girls all winning the Golden Raspberry award for Worst Actress.
The film was also named Worst Picture at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Rude.
But not ones to dwell on the negative (and, quite frankly, wrong) opinions of others, to celebrate the anniversary of the masterpiece that is Spice World, Metro.co.uk has picked out the campest moments which cement the film as one of the best British movies to ever grace the big screen.
So grab your popcorn, pop your hair in pigtails and slip into your leopard print as we dive into cinematic greatness. Hai si ja, hold tight!
The Spice Girls switch identities in Spice World: The Movie (Picture: Fragile Films)
The girls switching Spicy identities
We can’t imagine a world where Melanie C isn’t the gym bunny, Emma isn’t the cute one and Victoria isn’t the fashionista, but the girls took us to an alternate universe (or Spice World, if you will) when they decided they’d had enough of their nicknames during the film.
On a photoshoot, the girls decided to switch identities and dress up as each another and take turns to mock one another.
We see Geri in an orange and blue tracksuit, backflipping for the camera as she turns into Sporty, while Melanie C slips into a little black dress and points and pouts to the audience.
Mel B dons a skintight red two-piece and red wig, mocking Geri as she says: ‘Blah blah blah, girl power, feminism, you know what I mean,’ as Emma appears in leopard print, roaring at the camera.
Finally, Victoria poses in a pink dress and a blonde wig complete with bunches as she whispers ‘my mummy’s my best friend’ in her best Baby Spice impression.
Victoria flying the Spicebus over Tower Bridge
Cinema has had some thrilling and death-defying stunts in the past, but does anything beat Victoria Beckham hijacking the Union Jack bus, almost killing some nuns and flying the vehicle over the raised Tower Bridge? I think not.
Speeding through the streets of London to try and make it to the girls’ Royal Albert Hall gig, Victoria is driving over Tower Bridge when it starts to raise to let a boat through.
But as if that’s going to stop VB! In a true form of Girl Power, she puts her foot down and screams ‘hold on to your knickers, girls,’ before sending them flying across the air, landing with not as much as a bump.
The band are greeted by aliens in the film (Picture: Fragile Films)
The aliens
The movie does take a bit of a trippy turn when, during a stop off so they can all go for a wee in the woods, the Spice Girls are left frozen in fear as a UFO lands in front of them and four aliens get off to greet them, asking for tickets to the girls’ sold out concert.
As well as being superfans, the aliens are also a bit pervy, with one reaching out to grab Mel B’s boob and another giving Geri a big wet kiss on the lips.
After getting an autograph for their brother Krtkkarphillmuk and getting Victoria to sign one of their stomachs, they all pose for a photo before the aliens head back off into their spaceship.
Wild.
Victoria’s hilarious one-liners
I don’t care what anybody says, Victoria Beckham is a comedic genius and provides some of the movie’s genuine laugh out loud moments.
Some highlights include Vicky being plunged into the Thames after falling off of a speedboat but, naturally, being more worried about her clothes than own safety.
‘This dress is dry clean only, Melanie,’ she screams as she is being rescued. ‘Vicky, do you want to wear this?’ offers Mel B, with Victoria hitting back ‘I’m not that desperate, thank you.’
Another stand out moment sees Victoria, Geri and Melanie C visit a young fan in hospital after he has fallen into a coma.
In the hopes of waking him up, Geri and Melanie softly introduce themselves before our Posh shouts ‘I’m Victoria, Malcolm!’ in his face.
When they’re unable to wake him, Victoria suggests ‘maybe you should take your top off, Geri,’ as Malcolm miraculously shoots his eyes open.
When the girls’ best friend Nicola (more on her later…) asks the girls to be Godmother to her unborn child, the other four girls gleefully accept while a concerned look takes over Victoria’s face. ‘Hang on, do Godmothers get stretch marks?’ she asks as the others roll their eyes.
Later in the film, the band get into bed together after spookily having the same nightmare ahead of their big gig. As they all discuss how they went to sing but didn’t have heads in the dream, Victoria informs them that her version was much scarier.
‘I had exactly the same dream but mine was much, more worse,’ she says. ‘Well, you see I had a head, but there was no make-up on it.’
The bomb on the bus
While Victoria is zooming through the streets of London on the Spicebus, Emma lets out a scream as the other four girls are terrified to discover a bomb strapped to the vehicle.
In what initially seems to be a massive plot hole, the explosive isn’t spoken about again. That is until we witness the greatest movie credits scene in film history.
We see the entire cast discussing their roles in the film before the Spice Girls notice the viewers watching from home.
‘You know what they’re wondering now, don’t you?’ Geri asks before Melanie C gasps, ‘What happened to the bomb on the bus?’ as an explosion is heard in the distance and the screen turns black.
Perfection.
The cameos
What a cast this movie has. Not only are the biggest girl group of all time the leading ladies, Richard E. Grant plays their manager, Sir Roger Moore is the head of their record label and Meat Loaf is their bus driver.
The movie also boasts a number of incredible cameos including Sir Elton John, Jonathan Ross, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Jennifer Saunders amongst others.
But our favourite cameo comes from Bob Geldof who gets well and truly Spiced when Mel B gives him a makeover, wrapping his hair in cones at the front of his head as she used to wear it during the height of the group’s fame.
The Italian dancers
You want camp? The Spice Girls will give it to you.
Just when you thought it couldn’t actually get much gayer, the girls flew off to Italy for a performance when they were surprised in rehearsals by an army of oiled up dancers thrusting behind them in just their underwear.
‘Look at his muscles, it looks like he’s got ferretts burrowing under there or something,’ Mel B signals towards one of the men, while Geri asks ‘do you think that’s real down there?’
‘Looks like a pair of rolled up socks to me,’ Mel replies.
Truly an empath, Emma takes the approach of explaining why she can’t take one of the dancers home, telling him, ‘In my bed I’ve got two teddies, I’ve got a rabbit, I’ve got two dollies, one’s Susan and she’s got a bad eye. Then I’ve got a green giraffe that I won at a fayre, he was the only one left and I felt really sorry for him. Then there’s Buzz, Woody, the alien and then I’ve got a fluffy pink hot water bottle so there’s just not enough room for you, mate.’
The group are joined on stage by some scantily clad dancers (Picture: Fragile Films)
Both parties manage to come to a compromise before the big performance, with the men appearing fully dressed in purple suits.
That is until they turn around and you realised their bums are bare.
Their friend going into labour as they dance to their own song in a nightclub
The girlies are having one of those days. They’re fed up of working, they’re not sure they want to be superstars anymore and they want to let their hair down.
And what better way to do so than picking up their nine-months pregnant bestie Nicola and taking her clubbing.
In true main character energy, the fivesome hit the dance floor when Who Do You Think You Are? starts playing and the inevitable happens.
Nicola goes into labour in the middle of the club and stops them from boogying. Killjoy.
Richard O’Brien’s truly terrifying role
The Rocky Horror Picture Show screenwriter Richard O’Brien stars in the movie as Damien, a photographer who stalks the band taking snaps and recordings of the band to sell to the press.
But the role is truly terrifying and was the result of sleepless nights for many young Spice Girls fans.
I mean, there’s a scene where he literally climbs out of the toilet of a hotel that the girls are staying at in the middle of the night.
Victoria Beckham being an icon in the movie’s dance camp scene (Picture: Fragile Films)
The dance camp
Ahead of their Royal Albert Hall gig, the girls are shipped off to a dance camp to learn some new moves from Mr Step, played by Michael Barrymore, who decides they need to complete an assault course in army gear to learn their new choreography.
Emma, Mel B, Melanie C and Geri kit out in camouflage to give it their all as Victoria struts alongside them in a camo dress and heels because of course she does.
‘We’re the Spice Girls yes indeed, just Girl Power is all we need, we know how we got this far, strength and courage in a Wonderbra,’ they chant as they take on the activities while Victoria tries her hardest to not get her heels stuck in the mud as she avoids all tasks. Mood.
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A cinematic masterpiece.