Roger Ebert Hated 'Spice World' but Audiences Still Love the '90s Classic

Roger Ebert's opinions shaped viewers for decades. From 1967 until his death in 2013, the critic was renowned for blunt reviews, and one film he famously disliked was Spice World. The 1997 movie is a product of its time: cheesy and feel-good, with a wild, nonsensical plot and performances that aren't aiming for high drama.

Even so, Spice World can be brilliantly layered, and many argue it deserves more love than Ebert gave it. His main complaints focused on the film's realism and over-the-top, wacky moments. Beyond the camp, the film pushes the importance of "Girl Power" and examines how women in the public eye are boxed into stereotypes while also being more than that.

The group is constantly hounded by the media, followed by filmmakers on a boat where a child falls into the water, and shown missing a friend's final days of pregnancy amid a strained relationship with their manager, Clifford. Not every film needs to be deeply serious to be enjoyable, and Spice World sits between guilty-pleasure camp and female-focused themes.

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