I've had cheer-sex.

Rating: Null/10 (24 October 2011)

And it was great. The young ladies in question shall remain anonymous, but some innocent flirting with the popular cute girls always made my heart race a little, and put a smile on my face. Ah, memories.
But, to the film. I didn't see this in the theatre. In fact, I had no idea the film had even hit the market until I saw the DVD. The store I was at had the DVD stocked on end caps, in the musical section, in the dance section, in the comedy section, and even as an impulse item. I mean, you couldn't avoid the thing! Everywhere I looked I saw this DVD stocked on the shelves.
What was this movie? What was it about? I picked up a copy, and looked at the back; "Staring a bunch of actors I've never heard of." Okay, I thought before I scrunched my lips, "I'll take a chance on it..." and then tossed a copy in the shopping cart.
I fired it up, and was delighted to see a film about a time we all went through when youth of both sexes were discovering one another. We have the bookish (yet attractive) young man finding a connection with a girl who thinks he's cute. He doesn't understand her world too much, but finds himself drawn into her social graces, and, like a complete jerk and moronic idiot that he is, trashes the opportunity of a lifetime. Unlike a similar story I know of that took place in real life, this guy gets a second chance. Will he succeed? You have to see the film to find out.
Meanwhile we have some side stories of cheerleaders vying for power on the squad, other cheerleaders attempting to get into colleges after graduation, and, of course, the politics of inter-racial relations as privileged white girls unknowingly partake in theft of the under-dogs living on the wrong side of the tracks. There's also the rebellious and principled new girl, who brings raw energy and attitude to help shape the squad, all the while at the same time she herself is shown another side of life, and comes to appreciate her fellow cheerleaders.
In terms of the story structure and plot layout, it's formulaic, but the imagery and story telling mask that architecture, and deliver a film that, in spite of being extracted from and made for high school social elites (the popular "cliques"), is really meant to be enjoyed by everyone. Include me in that number, and, I have to admit right now, I thought it was a heartwarming tale.
Roger Ebert makes the comment that by including R-rated language and situations that the youth are at peril of losing their morality by virtue of watching this thing. Give me a break. What high school kid doesn't swear? Oh sure, some do it more than others, and they all talk about sex to some degree, so, for me at least (minus some of the more implicit sex scenes which we probably could've done without) this film is right on the mark in terms of that social milieu that we all went through. In short, watch it and enjoy it for what it is, though in all fairness to mister Ebert toning down the sex stuff might have made for a more universally accepting film (one that might've even won some awards).
I know of no girl that didn't want to be a cheerleader, nor any guy that didn't want to date one or be close to one. Admittedly I was a little too concerned with high-minded ideals at the time to pay attention to any of the social trappings, but, having flirted with cheerleaders, I can say that they are one of a kind, and this film appropriately pays homage to them.
Technically it's fine film. Lensing is appropriate, and lighting is bright to fill in shadows and show us the glowing tale that "Bring it On" is. The choreography well shot, and overall staging is professional. Casting is on the money, and as this was my first Kirsten Dunst film, all I can say is she's one of the funnier actresses I've ever seen. The scripting was also excellent, even though the plot took liberties with the realities of cheerleading competition.
All in all an excellent high-school genre film.
Watch and enjoy.