In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.

ok , i admit it -- i find camp amusement with the spice girls .
yes , the same spice girls of the gimmicky individual " identities , " they of the annoyingly infectious bubblegum pop hooks and cheesy unifying mantra of " girl power .
"
but not even their guilty pleasure appeal is n't enough to carry their big screen debut , a junky mess which would be more aptly named shite world than spice world .
the film begins amusingly enough , with a cheeky 007-esque title sequence in which the british quintet-- " scary " ( melanie brown ) , " baby " ( emma bunton ) , " sporty " ( melanie chisolm ) , " ginger " ( geri halliwell ) , and " posh " ( victoria adams )
--are introduced one by one ( to , much to my surprise , excited and only slightly mocking cheers from the press audience ) as they croon the silky ballad " too much " ( a tune that would sound right at home in an actual james bond film ) .
a few minutes and an elton john cameo later comes an introductory tour of the numerous plotlines that run through the film : ( 1 ) the spicy ones go on a european publicity tour leading up to their first live concert at london 's royal albert hall ; ( 2 ) a film producer ( george wendt ) and a screenwriter ( mark mckinney ) pitch various film ideas to the girls ' manager , clifford ( richard e . grant ) ; ( 3 ) a documentary film crew follows the girls ; ( 4 ) a pregnant " mate " ( naoki mori ) of the group rapidly approaches her due date ; and ( 5 ) a tabloid publisher ( barry humphries ) attempts to destroy the group with the help of a sneaky shutterbug ( richard o'brien ) .
capped off by a live rendition of the girls ' bouncy hit " say you 'll be there , " a wealth of laughs and merriment is sure to follow , right ? wrong .
it 's all downhill from there as spice world collapses into a series of misfired comedy sketches .
i must give the girls credit for their refreshing willingness to make fun of themselves , but writer kim fuller and director
bob spiers can barely come up with a funny joke between them , much less a organized framework for all the " wacky " goings - on .
spice world jumps from vignette to vignette , subplot to subplot with no direction and little sense , at one minute having the girls meet with aliens ( no joke ) and at another having them stage a daring rescue of two young fans who fall into the water during a boat ride .
while a decent joke slips through the cracks here and there -- during a " dance bootcamp " scene , the girls sing the lyric
" we know how we got this far / strength and courage and a wonderbra
" --much of the material is not even funny on the chuckle level .
some gags are just plain pointless , such as roger moore 's recurring role as the mysterious chief , who dispenses cryptic , metaphor - heavy advice to clifford .
the only reason why i can think anyone would find that funny is the fact that moore once played james bond .
ha ha .
as weak as the script is , i think there 's one insurmountable problem
with even attempting to make a spice girls movie , and that is the girls themselves .
the point is not that they ca n't act ( and , for the record , they really _ ca n't _ ) but that their individual personas , which works as a gimmick over the span of a four - minute music video , are too thin to survive outside of the truncated , video bite mtv world .
posh ( who garnered the most enthusiastic cheers during the introductions ) comes off best by default because her persona ( rich bitch ) most easily translates into character in a film .
baby 's persona ( young innocent ) , to a lesser extent , also works , but the remaining girls ' identities are a little harder to flesh out .
there really is n't much to do with sporty besides having her exercise every so often ( which is _ exactly _ what fuller and spiers do ) , and , after all , what exactly entails being " ginger " or " scary " ?
apparently , just their wardrobes .
spice world manages to pick up some steam in the late going following a flashback performance of the spices ' signature hit , " wannabe .
" the song is as grating as ever , but the energy of the number gives the proceedings a much - needed shot in the arm , setting the stage for a wave of self - referential humor stemmed from the screenwriters ' film ideas ( the film almost mirrors robert altman 's the player in the way the film snails into itself ) .
this section of the film , involving all manner of derring - do involving a speeding bus , is perhaps its most effective , but it also points up how all the other storylines ( the publisher , the documentary crew ) lack a satisfactory payoff .
spice world is harmless entertainment suitable for the entire family , and it will please the spice faithful .
but this sloppy enterprise surely wo n't win them any new fans , which is what the group sorely needs to bolster its rapidly waning girl power in the states .
once the hype disappears , spice world will likely serve as the the spices ' final hurrah in america .
N

in the opening shot of midnight cowboy , we see a close - up of a blank movie screen at a drive - in .
we hear in the soundtrack human cries and the stomping of horses ' hooves .
without an image projected onto the screen , the audience unerringly identifies the familiar sound of cowboys chasing indians and can spontaneously fill in the blank screen with images of old westerns in our mind 's eye .
even without having seen a cowboys and indians movie , somehow the cliched images of them seem to have found their way into our mental schema .
but do cowboys really exist , or
are they merely hollywood images personified by john wayne and gary cooper ?
exploring this theme , director john schlesinger uses the idea of the cowboy as a metaphor for the american dream , an equally cliched yet ambiguous concept .
is the ease at which salvation and success can be attained in america a hallmark of its experience or an urban legend ?
midnight cowboy suggests that the american dream , like image of the cowboy , is merely a myth .
as joe buck migrates from place to place , he finds neither redemption nor reward in his attempt to create a life for himself , only further degeneration .
during the opening credits , joe walks past an abandoned theater whose decrepit marquee reads ` john wayne : the alamo . '
as joe is on the bus listening to a radio talk show , a lady on the air describes her ideal man as ` gary cooper ?
but he 's dead . '
a troubled expression comes across joe 's face , as he wonders where have all the cowboys gone .
having adopted the image of a cowboy since youth , joe now finds himself deserted by the persona he tried to embody .
joe 's persistence in playing the act of the cowboy serves as an analogue to his american dream .
he romanticizes about making it in the big city , but his dreams will desert him as he is forced to compromise his ideals for sustenance .
by the end of midnight cowboy , joe buck loses everything and gains nothing .
just as the audience can picture cowboys chasing indians on a blank screen , we can also conjure up scenes from pretty woman as paradigms of american redemption and success .
but how realistic are these ideals ?
joe had raped and been raped in texas .
the scars of his troubled past prompt him to migrate to new york , but he does not know that his aspirations to be a cowboy hero will fail him there just as they had in texas .
alongside the dream of success is the dream of salvation .
the ability to pack up one 's belongings and start anew seems to be an exclusive american convention .
schlesinger provides us with strong hints as to joe 's abusive and abused past with flashbacks of improper relationships with crazy anne and granny .
we understand that joe adopts the fa ?
ade of a cowboy , a symbol of virility and gallantry , as an attempt to neutralize his shame .
he runs from his past only to be sexually defiled this time by his homosexual experiences in new york .
in the scene at the diner which foreshadows joe 's encounter with the gay student , joe buck spills ketchup on himself .
standing up , we see the ketchup has made a red stain running from the crotch of his pants down his thigh .
schlesinger visually depicts the degeneration of joe 's virility by eliciting an image of bleeding genitals , signifying emasculation .
beyond the symbol of castration , the scene may also connote the bleeding of a virgin 's first sexual encounter , a reference to joe 's first homosexual liaison .
the fact that the idea of a bleeding virgin is relegated only to females furthers the imagery of joe 's emasculation .
it is ironic that joe has trouble prospecting for female clients , but effortlessly attracts men .
joe believes his broncobuster getup is emblematic of his masculinity ; new yorkers see his ensemble as camp and ` faggot stuff . '
there are two predominant images of new york .
the first is that new york is the rich , cosmopolitan city where hope and opportunity are symbolized by the tall skyscrapers and the statue of liberty .
the other new york is travis bickle 's new york , a seedy , corruptive hell on earth .
joe envisions new york as the former , but is presented with the latter .
mirroring the irony in which joe envisions his cowboy attire as masculine , he mistakenly buys into the fable that new york is filled with lonely women neglected by gay men .
joe thinks he is performing a great service for new york , but the city rapes him of his pride and possessions .
the people steal joe 's money , the landlord confiscates his luggage , and the homosexuals rob him of his dignity .
what has become of joe 's american dream ?
schlesinger responds to this question with the scene at the party .
joe gets invited to a shindig of sorts and at the gathering is exposed to a dizzying array of food , drugs , and sex .
at the party , all of joe and ratzo 's desires are made flesh ; joe flirts successfully with women and ratzo loads up on free salami .
contrasting joe 's daily struggles , shots of warhol 's crew display wanton indulgence .
there is an irreverence in the partygoers ' attitude ; we see a shot of a woman kowtowing to nothing in particular , orgies breaking out in the periphery , and drugs passed around like party favors .
the party makes a mockery of joe ' s ideals .
joe believed that hard work and persistence were the elements for success in america ; scenes of the party and his rendezvous with shirley suggest that it is the idle who profit from joe 's toils .
the american dream , schlesinger suggests , is merely a proletarian fantasy , for those who are content no longer dream , but become indolent .
as joe heads to miami , all that was significant of the cowboy image has left him .
his masculinity is compromised and his morality is relinquished .
for joe , nothing is left of the cowboy hero and commensurately , he surrenders the identity .
tossing his boots into the garbage , he returns to the bus for the last leg of his journey to miami .
the final shot of midnight cowboy shows joe inside the bus , more introspective , taking only a few glances outside the window .
instead of the frequent pov shots of joe excitedly looking out of the bus on his way to new york , schlesinger sets up this final shot from the exterior of the bus looking in through the window at joe .
reflections of the palm trees ratzo so raved about run across the bus ' window with joe hardly taking notice .
the scenery of miami no longer exacts the same excitement from joe as before .
the world seems smaller to joe now ; the termination of his journey coincides with the termination of his american dream .
no longer does joe aspire to be the enterprising gigolo ; he resolves to return to a normal job and resign to basic means .
midnight cowboy presents two familiar incarnations of the american dream .
there is the frontier fantasy that if you are brave enough to repel a few indians , you can set up a ranch out west and raise a beautiful family .
then there is the jay gatsby dream that a man of humble stock , with perseverance , can make a fortune in the big city .
joe 's attempt to realize these dreams robs him of his innocence in texas and morality in new york .
during his search for an intangible paradise , joe ends up raping a girl and killing a man .
an allegory of chasing the promise of the american dream , joe
buck 's progressive
moral atrophy is a warning against the pursuit of illusory icons .
P

" through a spyglass , i could see everything .
"
king louis xvi was beheaded on january 21 , 1793 , but instead of visualizing this act of regicide , legendary auteur eric rohmer 's the lady and the duke observes from afar .
consider it a view to a kill made abstract .
a proper british ( yes , british ) gentlewoman , grace elliott ( lucy russell ) , and her loyal maidservant gaze from a lofty terrace in meudon at the glistening city of paris , where raucous crowds seem tinier than ants .
the maid narrates what little she sees of the execution through her telescope
( often muttering , " i do n't know , " ) as the sound of cheering patriots and revolutionaries echoes through the air .
what we do n't see might not be able to hurt us .
just close your eyes and think of england .
during times of revolution , the aristocracy may feel a false sense of calm in their parlor halls , discussing tumultuous events over glasses of sherry until the walls cave in on them .
adapted from elliott 's memoirs , journal of my life during the french revolution , rohmer 's latest artistic tour - de - force may seem far removed from his domestic comedies ( tales of the four seasons , etc . ) , a period film set during the most violent changes in french history . resisting the temptation for grand - scale theatrics , much of the lady and the duke is about quiet , decisive moments between members of the cultural elite as they determine how to proceed as the world implodes .
grace elliott makes for an unlikely protagonist : a headstrong , snobbish blueblood , one unprepared for the machinations of history that sweep her along .
a foreigner who accepts the french king as her own , grace 's life seems defined by fancy attire and lively political debate with her former lover , the king 's hot - blooded cousin , prince philipe , duke of orleans ( jean - claude dreyfus ) .
the times are changing , though , and the gears inch ever closer toward violence .
during the september massacres of 1792 , she is encountered by a procession of rioters brandishing the head of the duke 's sister - in - law on a stake .
rohmer makes a harsh transition from tranquil , old fashioned , almost stagy parlor scenes to the swell of an angry mob .
in doing so , he achieves what braveheart and the patriot could not : the face of death .
when grace sees her friend 's disembodied head on a pole , rohmer 's attention drifts from the societal change to one woman 's reaction shot , laden with hot tears .
grace finds herself taking in a fugitive from justice , sheltering him from the mob .
through her relationship with the duke , she seeks a passport for this one activist 's escape .
grace does n't even understand her own actions ( and the duke reacts in stunned disbelief at how she places herself in such danger ) .
she endures persecution from robespierre and his gang of thuggish equalizers , ceaseless police monitoring , house searches , even a brief imprisonment for harmless international correspondence .
maintaining her stiff upper lip and pampered life ( her imperious attitude to the servants never changes ) , she becomes a heroine through circumstance .
the events themselves are intrusions upon her person , her home , and therefore her values .
aristocracy proves a glass house , one that can barely withstand the upheaval of stones .
the duke is called to vote on the king 's punishment , and despite his hours of deliberation with friends and advisors , talk means nothing in the face of bloody action ( or futile inaction ) .
the episodic structure creates a wobbly , jarring detachment from the events of the french revolution , which serves as metaphor but also disconnects potential audience identification .
lazy viewers ( and critics ) may also complain that knowledge of french history is required for enjoyment of the lady and the duke .
that 's foolery , but brings up the valid criticism that rohmer 's characters occasionally become didactic .
rohmer 's imperfect but assured
push toward the future remains staunch and notable for casting a cautious eye upon the past while taking bold steps forward into an uncertain future .
what may arouse interest in the lady and the duke outside of foreign film enthusiasts with literary and historical passions is rohmer 's use of cutting edge digital technology as a means of exploring the theme of artifice as safety net or coping mechanism .
the actors were filmed against a bluescreen , then placed against painted backdrops recreating the vastness of 18th century paris .
this recreation calls attention to itself in every shot , a technicolor dream of fanciful buildings and wide - open streets .
it looks as phony as titanic , but unlike james cameron 's debacle , the lady and the duke plays with the notion of false security in those walls of stone .
why ?
they are n't real .
the very foundation rohmer 's characters stand upon is false , and in their groundlessness they must discover themselves , in all their insubstantial glory .
screened at the 2001 new york film festival ( feature coming soon ) .

P