Bring It On

**Bring It On** is a 2000 American teen comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, which was released on August 25, 2000 by Universal Pictures.

## Plot

A high school cheerleading squad discovers that its previous captain stole all their best routines from an inner-city high school and must scramble to compete at this year's championships.

## Cast

* Kirsten Dunst as Torrance Shipman
* Eliza Dushku as Missy Pantone
* Jesse Bradford as Cliff Pantone
* Gabrielle Union as Isis
* Clare Kramer as Courtney
* Nicole Bilderback as Whitney
* Tsianina Joelson as Darcy
* Rini Bell as Kasey
* Nathan West as Jan
* Huntley Ritter as Les
* Shamari Fears as Lava
* Natina Reed as Jenelope
* Brandi Williams as LaFred
* Richard Hillman as Aaron
* Lindsay Sloane as "Big Red"
* Bianca Kajlich as Carver
* Paige Inman as Jessica
* Holmes Osborne as Bruce Shipman
* Sherry Hursey as Christine Shipman
* Cody McMains as Justin Shipman
* Ian Roberts as Sparky Polastri

## Production

Filming for "Bring It On" took place from July 12, 1999 to September 10, 1999.

Torrance's house was filmed in Cardiff, California and Missy's house was filmed in La Jolla, California.

The school scenes were filmed at Kearny Senior High School, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace and San Diego University in San Diego, California. Local high school cheerleading squads were used as extras in the film.

The football stadium was filmed at Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California and the scoreboard & weight room were filmed at Mount Carmel High School in San Diego, California.

The car wash scenes were filmed at 2445 Shelter Island Drive in San Diego, California.

Prior to auditioning for the film, the actors were expected to have a cheer prepared and in order to avoid the use of stunt doubles, director Peyton Reed required the actors to participate in a four-week cheerleading camp.

Marley Shelton was the first choice for the role of Torrance Shipman, but she decided to star in the film, Sugar & Spice instead. Terri Conn had three callbacks for the role of Torrance before Kirsten Dunst was ultimately cast in the part.

James Franco and Jason Schwartzman each auditioned for the role of Cliff Pantone which went to Jesse Bradford.

The vintage rock t-shirts that Cliff wears throughout the film are from director Peyton Reed's extensive collection.

## Box Office

"Bring It On" grossed $17,362,105 during its opening weekend and ranked #1 at the North American box office.

Although the film experienced an 18% decline in gross earnings, it held the top position at the box office for a second consecutive week and later for a third week.

Overall, it grossed $68,379,000 on an estimated budget of $11,000,000.

## Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, "Bring it On" has an approval rating of 63% based on 120 reviews with an average rating of 6.00\10. The site's consensus reads: *"Despite the formulaic fluffy storyline, this movie is surprisingly fun to watch, mostly due to its high energy and how it humorously spoofs cheerleading."*

On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 31 reviews, indicating "Mixed or average reviews."

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F.

Writing for The New York Daily News, Elizabeth Weitzman called the film *"clever, slightly, edgy fun."*

The New York Times praised Kirsten Dunst's performance, writing: *"It is Ms. Dunst who carries the movie and unifies its disparate elements. She's a terrific comic actress."*

Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle called it a *"moderately entertaining, mostly inoffensive piece of filmmaking."*

Kim Morgan of the Oregonian called it *"the newest, and probably first, true cheerleading movie."*

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called it *"predictable and surprisingly confusing in its ultimate message."*

The Chicago Tribune called the film *"absurdly unrealistic at times"* while Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times described it as a *"strange mutant beast, half Nickelodeon movie, half R-rated comedy."*

The Dallas Observer said: *"It's not until the plot surfaces that Bring It On really begins to suffer."*