STICK IT A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
In her directorial debut, STICK IT's writer Jessica Bendinger continues in her tradition of writing movies mainly for teen audiences. Best known for BRING IT ON, she also penned AQUAMARINE, FIRST DAUGHTER and THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE. What all of these scripts had in common is the quality of the writing, which isn't good. Although I didn't like any of these films, BRING IT ON does at least have some cute sections, and it is blest with having Kirsten Dunst as its star.
In contrast, STICK IT, about the world of competitive female gymnastics, has some real athletes in a purely plastic story. The movie's ultimate message is -- I kid you not -- that athletes don't like the thought of competing and think being judged is ipso facto unfair. The movie's ending beats this message home with all of the fervor of a drunken preacher railing against the evils of booze.
The movie opens with one guy proclaiming "Sorry Bro," -- the dialog is filled with teen clichés. Shortly thereafter we meet Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), the girl at the center of the story. Her coach, Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), calls her "rebel without applause." As she runs away from the cops after breaking a plate-glass window at a new house while doing a stunt, she brags to us that she has "an on-going flirtation with law enforcement," which she plans on taking to the next level. Shortly thereafter she is sentenced by a judge to "juvie." The lock-up is called VGA. Guess what? Her rich daddy has actually gotten her admitted to a gymnastics school called VGA, which is run by the aforementioned coach.
Burt is presented as a hard-ass huckster with a heart of gold. He tells every parent their girl is Olympics bound, and every parent believes every word he says. He has a reputation for pushing his girls until they get injured, but the Burt we meet is really Mr. Safety.
Will the rebellious Haley agree to take direction from Burt? Will she "choke" again as she is said to have done last year at "World?"
As you ponder these easy to figure out questions in this cliché-ridden script, you get to meet some of the other girls as well. The chief of among these is Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), the canonical bitch. She is as dumb as dirt and can't remember any polysyllabic words correctly. She warns Burt, for example, that he may get a "cardiovasectomy," if he's not careful. Her mother is a classic stage mom who won't even let her girl go to the prom because it has to be gymnastic twenty-fours hours a day so she can win the gold.
Oh yes, just so you don't worry. Haley didn't really choke at World after all, as you'll find out.
Some of the gymnastics are pretty good. But stay at home and watch them on ESPN instead. You'll find them a lot more enjoyable that way.
STICK IT runs way too long at 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for "some crude remarks" and would be acceptable for kids around 8 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, April 28, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?
Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
-- rec-arts-movies-reviews@robomod.net mailing list http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/rec-arts-movies-reviews
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews