For the screening, Columbia invited a handful of journalists and just about every 10-year-old girl in New York City to attend the event (at 10 a.m. on Saturday, no less -- talk about an assault of the senses).

Needless to say, the theater reeked of hot dogs. (Yes, at 10 a.m.) The aroma not withstanding, it was certainly interesting to watch the youth of America respond so well to the film. If I had not witnessed it myself, I would have been hard pressed to believe that any non-institutionalized person -- of any age group or sex -- could find humor in the endless string of inanities known as the Spice World movie.

Written by Kim Fuller, the story goes something like this: At the height of Their dizzying stardom, an evil publication (NY Rock?) decides to bash the Spice Girls. This, of course, threatens the Girls' career and nearly drives Their neurotic manager, Clifford (Richard E. Grant) over the edge -- with the additional help of a few severe lashings of Girl Power.

The movie opens up with extreme close-ups of the Spice Girls (a big mistake in my book) and proceeds to trail Them as They scurry from one gig, press junket or photo shoot to another. A half-dozen performances and a couple dozen one-liners later, I glanced at my watch for the thirty-seventh time, the minute hand had yet to do a half circle, and yet the row full of 12-year-olds behind me were beside themselves with laughter.

Finally, about half-way through the movie, Spice World began to offer some signs of hope. The Girls take a daring trek through a dark and foreboding patch of woods. For a second, I thought that John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy would appear and take care of business. No such luck -- only a small group of aliens who settle for an autograph and a peck on the cheek from Ginger Spice (the fat one with the red hair).

Some moments later I found myself checking my watch again to see if the damn thing hadn't stopped altogether. Suddenly, another glimmer of hope presented itself via a scene in which the Girls find Themselves being tossed from a capsized boat into the Thames River. Unfortunately, it appears, They swim safely to shore (something that can't necessary be said about the movie itself).

I should mention that Spice World contains an interesting cast. A few notables show up in cameos -- including Elton John, Bob Geldolf and Elvis Costello -- while others appear in supporting roles (Roger Moore as “the Chief,” Meat Loaf as bus driver Dennis, and George Wendt as Hollywood producer Martin Barnfield). I can only hope they were all paid handsomely and not by Girl Power alone.

Finally, after a grueling hour-and-a-half, Spice World comes to a close, which brings me to a couple of comments. The movie may or may not be your cup of tea but it has an undeniable appeal to the early and pre-teen crowd. It must, then, be acknowledged that it is doing something for somebody somewhere, whether we testy critics like it or not.

Furthermore, the Spice Girls may be saccharine sweet but it's damn hard to take your eyes off them once they appear on the screen. (I'd like to suggest, however, that chunky little Emma think about laying off the lollipops before she explodes.) Whether the Girls' attraction is due to Their talent, or to the audience's masochistic tendencies, is anybody's guess. Nevertheless the fact remains they are loved by millions. That is, I'd didn't hear a lot of complaints from the theater full of Girl Scouts as they were happily exiting the premises.