BRING IT ON -----------
Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst, "The Virgin Suicides") thinks her dreams have been answered when she's chosen as captain of her high school's award winning cheerleading squad in her senior year. But newcomer Missy (Eliza Dushku, "True Lies") clues Tori in - the Toros' routines were all stolen from LA's Clovers, an urban squad who intend to challenge Tori's in "Bring It On."
LAURA:
"Bring It On" is a strange hybrid of a film - it features the usual, routine competition-set-against-romance teen story, yet maintains a certain freshness due to the high-spirited cheerleading choreography, the novelty of presenting cheerleading as a coed competition sport and the appeal of its cast. Simply put, this is more entertaining than a script (by former Spin magazine and MTV News writer Jessica Bendinger) read might indicate.
Tori would seem to have it all when 'Big Red' (Lindsay Sloane) passes down the captain's mantle. Immediately, problems begin to mount. First, a cheerleader suffers a multiple leg break during Tori's first practice. Efforts to find a replacement result in the standard tryout montage, with goth chick Missy, who's only slumming looking for a gymnastics substitute, being the obvious standout. Tori faces opposition from catty cheer girls Courtney (Clare Kramer) and Whitney (Nicole Bilderback), but convincing Missy to join the team opens a new world to Tori. Not only does she discover Big Red's underhanded methods of stealing routines, but she gets to know Missy's brother Cliff (Jesse Bradford, "The King of the Hill"). Supportive, offbeat Cliff will come in awful handy when Tori's off-to-college cheerleading boyfriend proves disloyal in more ways than one.
While the script does go through the expected paces, it also features some offbeat humor (a dream sequence cheer routine delivers a delightfully nasty message, a flirtatious toothbrushing scene). The relationship between Tori and Isis (Gabrielle Union, "Ten Things I Hate About You"), the rival Clovers captain, is also more nuanced than one would expect from a teen comedy. We still have to put up with the obvious romantic manipulations, inconsistently used teenspeak ('She puts the itch in B****') and the de rigueur vomit gag, but the actors pull the weak bits up a notch, while making hay with the more original scenes.
Kirsten Dunst grounds the film with her fresh faced optimism and 'spirit,' and she gets commendable support from Dushku, the talent with 'tude who's surprised at her own enthusiasm for cheerleading. Bradford has the appeal of Paul Rudd in "Clueless" crossed with a young Ben Chaplin ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs") and gives a cheekily offbeat performance. Kramer and Bilderback are fun representing the witchiness/popularity of the sport with Kramer's Courtney being the squad slut (she doesn't wear panties beneath her spankies the better to enjoy her stunts with male colleagues) and Bilderback finagling to get her talentless sister on board. Gabrielle Union is almost patrician as the urban underdog captain, bringing elegance and dignity to Isis. Her squad includes the members of singing group Blaque, of whom Brandi Williams stands out most as the rambunctious LaFred. Ian Roberts plays hired choreographer Sparky Polastri like as a tyrannical Bob Fosse wannabe. Cody McMains is realistically obnoxious as Tori's little brother Justin, believably pulling off the film's requisite fart gag.
Feature debut director Peyton Reed has done an impressive job here, instilling an inspiring energy level in his film. The mixture of professional cheerleaders and actors is seamless (there were 12 coed cheerleaders to 8 actors per squad) and the climatic competition is rousing. For anyone who's never watched a real national cheerleading competition on cable, "Bring It On" will be a relevation.
B-
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