'Bring It On' is perhaps the first major motion picture to showcase the various intricacies of the sport of cheerleading, and on that level it succeeds masterfully...

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2005)

Bring It On
High school student Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) is lamenting her boyfriend Aaron's (Richard Hillman, 'Boys and Girls') departure for college, but she also has something to celebrate. She's just been picked to fill the position of the captain of the school's award-winning cheerleading squad, a duty the teenager takes very seriously. When one of the cheerleaders is injured during a practice, Torrance holds auditions for a replacement, and reluctantly decides to recruit the spunky new girl, Missy (Eliza Dushku, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), who reveals to Torrance that their entire act has been stolen from another school's. With just weeks until the regional championships, the team (including Clare Kramer and Nicole Bilderback) must scramble to come up with a completely new routine to avoid complete humiliation, while Torrance has to deal with a sudden crush on Missy's brother, Cliff (Jesse Bradford, 'Hackers').
Cheerleaders are usually left with the short straw in teen movies. They're usually portrayed as heartless vamps or stuck-up ditzes, and, rather surprisingly, rarely do we actually see them cheerleading. 'Bring It On' is perhaps the first major motion picture to showcase the various intricacies of the sport, and on that level it succeeds masterfully. There's nothing new about the rest of the film, though.
Director Peyton Reed is certainly in his element with this lively comedy. A former music video director who has been honing his skills on the small screen (including remakes of Disney films 'The Love Bug' and 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'), Reed has found the perfect project for which to mark his feature film debut. Reed is working from a serviceable script by Jessica Bendiger (also debuting here), who sees cheerleading as an art form, and the filmmaker treats it as such.
~ 7/10 ~