An entertaining flick about cheerleaders? Who knew?!

Rating: 9/10 (12 September 2008)

BRING IT ON is just plain fun! A smart, lighthearted, engaging teen flick for the modern audience. And it actually isn't just some mindless teen comedy that goes nowhere. It has a plot! And a point...Cheerleading matters! Who knew a flick about competitive cheerleading could be fun!
Starring the refreshing Kirsten Dunst (I find her more likable in this than any of those SPIDERMAN films) as Torrance Shipman, the leader of Cheerleading Toros (5-time defending national champion), BRING IT ON is nonstop entertainment. With her sidekick Missy Pantone (sexy Eliza Dushku), Torrance must maintain the Toros winning ways by coming up with new cheers for the team, since the former leader (now in college) stole the old cheers from the Compton squad (led by Gabrielle Union, who plays Isis, who looks like a high schooler about as much as one of the Golden Girls does!). Yeah, b/c all girls in Compton look like Gabrielle Union!
The supporting cast is great, especially Torrance's annoying cheerleading mates Courtney and Whitney and Isis' right hand Darcy. These girls ALMOST steal the show. Show-stealing honors go to the 'spirit fingers' guy Sparky, whose scenes are just plain hilarious! That scene alone puts this film on another level! "Don't speak!"
Needless to say, this is an us-versus-them story and the film builds to an exciting climax at the national competition where the Toros must battle the Compton squad for the honors. Personally, I think the wrong squad won, but that's just me. Still, a fun movie experience!