Funny, lewd, sexy, energetic, witty, and moral.

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2002)

In short, everything I want in an entertaining movie.
I had read enough good things about this movie to give it a try. I figured that at least it should have a few chuckles, a few good-looking cheerleaders. I sat back in my chair, half closed my eyes, and said, "Okay Mr. Peyton Reed, keep me awake if you can."
Well, about two lines into the opening "cheer" (see the IMDB quotes page) I sat up straight, all eyes and ears. And my attention never wavered, my eyelids never drooped, right through the closing credits. Even the best movies usually have a few dead spots ("narrative bridges"), but this one has none, and I watched it three times in a row (the second time listening to the director's commentary, in which he points out several places where he nearly went astray, and explains why he didn't).
This is simply a brilliant movie, where everyone involved got everything right. It cuts no slack for the lazy, the stupid, the cynical, or the corrupt -- either on screen or in the audience.
No, it is not a documentary. It does not depict cheerleading, or high school, or teenagers as they really are. That would be a very different movie, and not nearly as much fun as this. Instead it is a surreal teen comedy, in the vein of American Beauty, but a far superior movie to that morbidly perverse piece of work -- more engaging, more entertaining (with great production numbers), and more hopeful in its view of people, and of the world. Pretty amazing for a first feature film -- indeed for any film. 9.4/10