an enjoyable piece of fluff.

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2002)

At the time of its release, I thumbed my nose at "Bring It On", thinking it was just another lame-brained, teen sex comedy. Boy, was I wrong! Considering the garbage the year 2000 yielded; this was a light (perhaps a bit too light) breath of fresh air.
"Bring It On" is a very likeable (and even at times, hokey) teen romp about the high-stakes, backstabbing, catfighting world of cheerleading competitions. Okay, I embellished that last part; but the film succeeds on it's own modest terms. Think "Clueless", with a moral at the end.
I enjoyed Dunst's performance as Torrence (by the way, IS that a real girl's name?), the head captain of the Toros cheerleading squad, who's professionalism is called into question, when she learns they've been lifting routines from an inner city school at East Compton. I like the fact that mature themes (like theft and responsibility) were explored. Nice when a teen comedy can go the distance that way.
My one complaint is the "mature" elements of the story. The film tends to skirt many issues; most notably sexual orientation. For starters, they never establish Eliza Dushku's quasi-lesbian character from being anywhere resembling real. And that choreographer!!! Did they call a gay porn/male stripper ad for that moron?!