The culture of cheerleading has long been a target of both fascination and disdain in American society. Many might question phony enthusiasm combined with bouncing and insincere smiling and wonder what type of person would want to be unrelentingly perky in front of a crowd rolling their collective eyes and actively ignoring them. Then again, popularity and cheerleading have gone hand in hand throughout the recorded history of high school yearbooks. In addition, cheerleaders are usually young and athletic, so don’t forget the sexual aspect: little skirts and sweaters have undoubtedly fueled many a wankfest.
The latest exploration of cheerleading as a lifestyle is Bring It On, a movie that has a hard time deciding if it wants to be a Valentine or an obnoxious sibling mocking and berating the pom-pommed minions. The opening sequence is hilarious, seemingly setting the stage for a satire, but then the movie loses most of its teeth and ends up being closer to a cheerleading Rocky, which isn’t such a terrible thing though it makes for a somewhat schizophrenic experience.
Kirsten Dunst is Torrance Shipman, newly elected squad captain of the national high school cheering champions of Rancho Carne High School and inheritor of a regime built on stealing routines from a more talented but less privileged inner city team. Dunst (Dick, Interview With The Vampire) gives another appealing performance in spite of the occasional insipid line she has to recite. Jesse Bradford plays the Donny Osmond-like Cliff Pantone, an exchange student (there’s always an exchange student) from Los Angeles with lots of big eyelashed charm. His sister, Missy (Eliza Dushku, Faith on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and total bad-ass babe), starts out as a rebel gymnast, tries out for the squad, and eventually gets converted to the peppy side. Plus, she looks really good in the outfit. Gabrielle Union is Isis, the captain of the Clovers, the inner city rivals who confront the Toros (our heroes), make some threats that rhyme, and show up to challenge them in the big finale. None of the performances are bad, but unfortunately most of the actors with several lines end up being victim to Bring It On not being able to decide what it wants to do. The script flounders.
However, there are some very funny lines that for the most part come at the expense of cheerleaders. Bring It On has all of the elements a farce needs, but sort of wimps out and tries a little too hard to ultimately warm our hearts. There is no denying the athleticism required for what cheerleaders do, not to mention the discipline, but it’s difficult to separate that from the aggressive perkiness, perpetual teeth, and taking themselves too seriously. It’s difficult not to smirk. Bring It On needs more smirking.
+ David Kern
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.