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Some of the right moves
By PHILIP BOOTH © St. Petersburg Times, published August 25, 2000
It's difficult not to sympathize with those sentiments, particularly for those who might remember cheerleaders as attractive but irrelevant distractions during high school football games. Contemporary cheerleading has come a long way. Cheer squads, often coed, employ routines characterized by members' athleticism, agility and ability to get in sync with others on moves borrowed from Broadway. The best teams show off in an annual competition that gets national television coverage. This uneven debut feature from television director Peyton Reed (Comedy Central's Upright Citizens Brigade) handily captures the fresh-scrubbed enthusiasm and high energy at the core of its lead characters' chief obsession. That's particularly evident during the last 20 minutes or so of this dying-to-be-liked movie, as Torrance and her middle-class Toros face off with the tougher, funkier Clovers, a mostly African-American team from East Compton. The two battle for top honors during a national competition set in Daytona Beach. The fast-paced, choreographed movements, with bodies flying high in the air and twisting to insistent beats, will thrill fans and friends of cheerleading and may come off as at least a pleasant diversion to everyone else. Bring It On otherwise is as skimpy as some of the clothes worn by Dunst (The Virgin Suicides, Dick) and the other young cast members. It's made from the same mold as the recent Center Stage and cut from the same cloth as all the youthful let's-put-on-a-show movies ever cranked out by Hollywood. Torrance, as newly elected captain of her team, is pressured to lead the group to its sixth consecutive national championship. Alas, the obstacles loom large. Cliff, thought of as "alternative" because of his Clash T-shirts, Ramones records and loud guitar playing, has a similarly out-of-step sister, Missy (Eliza Dushku). She's a top-caliber gymnast, primed to fill a vacancy on the squad but openly disliked by catty second-in-command girls Courtney (Clare Kramer) and Whitney (Nicole Bilderback). It's tough to argue with the camp value of dialogue that includes words like "cheerocracy" and "cheertator." The Toros' polished routine is exposed as a rip-off of moves created by the Clovers. Missy, in the most soft-headed plot turn, gets her dad's company to fund the inner city girls' trip to Florida, but brash captain Isis (Gabrielle Union) and her squad instead call on the help of a generous Oprah-like television personality. Everything comes to a boil during a thoroughly predictable last act that leads to one conclusion: The abject failure of But I'm a Cheerleader makes Bring It On the best cheerleading movie of the summer. MOVIE REVIEW
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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