SPICE Girls in better-than-expected movie shock! After the year which saw the beginnings of the inevitable Spice backlash, the Boxing Day opening of the Spice Girls' version of "Hard Day's Night" was looking distinctly dodgy. Who hasn't had the Spice Girls up to here? And yet - who didn't discuss with their mates at least the possibility of checking out the movie?

Well, my friends and I had the credibility bypass and went to see the film. And although this decision had a lot to do with perving potential and Scary Spice's stomach in particular, we were all pleasantly surprised. It's not that bad. We did laugh and the proportion of cheese-induced groans to genuine chuckles was about 50-50.

For those who don't know, it's the story of the lead-up to the girls' first concert in the Albert Hall. Along the way it takes in a bus chase, a pregnancy, the almost-break-up of the band, evil tabloids, sleazy management, small children, numerous dream sequences and alien invasion. Not to mention a string of cameos including Bob Geldof, Roger Moore, Ad-Fab comic Jennifer Saunders and Elvis Costello (rather lost on the younger members of the audience). Glam rock behemoth Gary Glitter had his scene swiftly dropped in the wake of last December's allegations (child pornography on his hard disk), but we do have Meatloaf as the tour bus driver.

The big question is: can the Spice Girls act? We are still undecided. Naturally they can play themselves, supposedly, but not visibly exaggerated. (An exaggerated Ginger Spice? Can you imagine? Do you want to?) They certainly look pretty and all those insanely catchy songs are there. Scary Spice menaces Bob Geldof, Baby Spice bats her eyelids and indulges in an eye-opening bit of karate, Posh Spice teeters on assorted stilettos, Sporty rides her exercise bike and Geri espouses Girl Power. Richard E Grant is magnificently slimy as their manager, Roger Moore does a nice line in omnipotent chief executive and everyone else strolls on and off with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

So, is it worth it? If you were to go expecting quality film-making, quality acting or just plain quality, you would be disappointed. If you went for a giggle, to listen to the music and admire Victoria's legs, you'd probably quite enjoy it. If you are waiting for the video release, we know what you're after. Don't wear out the pause button.