Bring It On (2000)

Director:

Peyton Reed

Writer (WGA):

Jessica Bendinger (written by)

Release Date:

25 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Backstabbing. Spotlight-grabbing. Secret-blabbing. A cheerleader's life is all that.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Championship | Cheerleading | High School | Sports Bra | Cheerleader

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Kirsten Dunst	...	Torrance Shipman
Eliza Dushku	...	Missy Pantone
Jesse Bradford	...	Cliff Pantone
Gabrielle Union	...	Isis
Clare Kramer	...	Courtney
Nicole Bilderback	...	Whitney
Tsianina Joelson	...	Darcy
Rini Bell	...	Kasey
Nathan West	...	Jan
Huntley Ritter	...	Les
Shamari Fears	...	Lava
Natina Reed	...	Jenelope
Brandi Williams	...	Lafred
Richard Hillman	...	Aaron
Lindsay Sloane	...	Big Red

Also Known As:

Cheer Fever (USA) (working title)
Jump (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sex-related material and language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | Norway:A | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37512)

Filming Locations:

Oceanside, California, USA

Company:

Beacon Communications

Trivia:

When the "Clovers" first confront Torrance and Missy of the "Toroes", one of the Clover cheerleaders wants to "beat these Buffy's down" and when the confrontation is over she says that they are being "watched over by an angel". The dialogue in-joke is that Missy played by Eliza Dushku portrayed Faith the Slayer on the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the spin-off "Angel".

Goofs:

Continuity: At the regional competition, during the clover routine, the person Isis is dancing with changes between scenes several times.

Quotes:

Jan: They don't go, we win; once again, we're the best.
Torrance Shipman: I define being the best as competing against the best there is out there and beating them. They have to go.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in John Tucker Must Die (2006)

Soundtrack:

Fanfare For God

Flimsy stuff done rather well

This is a movie where more talent than necessary has been invested in a film basically aimed at entertainment-seeking adolescents, people interested in dance routines, and a few older men who enjoy watching young girls jump about. It follows the fortunes of an award-winning cheerleader team and the hapless football team they support.

A film about cheer leading, something that is, as far as I know, a uniquely American phenomenon, sounds pretty cheesy. The remarkable thing is that the acting and dialogue raise it a bit above the minimum required and the cheer leading dance sequences are a revelation for anyone who thought it was just about waving arms in the air and shouting support for the football team.

Gabrielle Union (10 Things I Hate About You) and Kirsten Dunst (Drop Dead Gorgeous & Virgin Suicides) were both cheerleaders at school - did this help with the authenticity? The amazing routines are quite dazzling to watch - requiring a very high level of stamina, physical fitness, athletic ability and dance technique. The overhead panning brings them almost to the level some of the old song and dance movie scenes with synchronized dancing. Synchronized dance in itself is difficult stuff, but fast paced synchronized dancing (to a great soundtrack, by the way) involving major aerial throws, difficult jive moves and lots of personality thrown in, is quite an achievement.

The film never takes itself too seriously, from the football announcer who says at the end of the match, "our next defeat is scheduled for next Tuesday", to the out-takes while the credits roll, the attitude is firmly tongue in cheek.

The script includes plenty of teenage bitching reminiscent of Clueless (adolescents often seem to show their intellectual prowess at clever, and often vicious repartee, that is all par for the course), but the acting is convincing and even the awkward issues of race and homosexuality are handled well. One cannot but help congratulate them for making a good film out of such a flimsy premise.