The Movie Guys: ‘Bring It On’ the latest in long line of teen flicks

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 10 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun. They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/ movies and themovieguys.com.

Grade: Jeff B, Dave C

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union, Jesse Bradford and Nathan West.

Screenplay: Jessica Bendinger.

Director: Peyton Reed.

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

Running time: 100 minutes.

Playing at: UA Green Valley Cinemas, UA Showcase 8, UA Rainbow Promenade 10, Century Orleans, Century Cinedome 12 Henderson, Rancho Santa Fe 16, Las Vegas Drive-in, Regal Cinemas Boulder Station, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18.

Synopsis: In a contest to win the national cheerleading championships for the sixth year in a row, Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst), team captain of the San Diego Toros of Rancho Carne High School, must show her team how to beat out their rival squad, the East Compton Clovers. As the Clovers' captain, Isis (Gabrielle Union), is struggling to raise enough money to make it to the competition, Torrance faces the fact that her team's winning cheers are not original as they seem.

Dave: "Any sport that combines dance, gymnastics and short skirts is fine by me," exclaims the intentionally lame sportscaster, whose coverage of the National Cheerleading Championship becomes the central theme of this pompom-teen comedy. And any film that combines those three elements certainly doesn't hurt, especially when the overtly dressed and highly spirited Dunst (last seen in "The Virgin Suicides") leads the cheers and jeers of her five-time defending champion squad back to the finals. Now both Jeff and I are high-school turnouts from the 1980's -- Jeff covering the early half while I took on the latter part of the decade, when teen films such as "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "The Breakfast Club" defined our youthful angst. Unfortunately, teen flicks today seem to be reaching to define a generation with one charmless misfire after another, and "Bring It On" certainly is not the classic scenario that will win Generation Y's unforgettable movie honor.

Jeff: I disagree, Dave. "Bring It On" captures the youth, energy and most certainly the humor of the most sacred and coveted clique in high school -- the cheerleading squad. Again, as we saw with last year's hit, "American Pie," or the more recent "Road Trip," it seems no theme or language is taboo concerning the daily strife of today's teenagers. Very refreshing. Hollywood seems to be relaxing its standards and returning to the rebellious, free-thinking attitude that most adolescents embrace and those very attitudes are represented on the screen. Perhaps the only appeal for all of the teen guys dragging their dates to this film is the obvious eye candy and relatively suggestive moves by Cheer Captain Torrance Shipman (Dunst) and her squad of perfect girls. As stated with their opening cheer: "I'm sexy, I'm cute. I'm popular to boot. I'm bitchin'. Great ha ir. The boys all like to stare." Stare they will, and with most of the cast equipped with the talented words of first-time ! screenwriter Jessica Bendinger, and spontaneous direction by Peyton Reed, "Bring It On" proves to be worthy of any teen film from my generation or the next.

Dave: My God, Jeff, you sound like you were recruited for the cheerleading squad of this movie. For starters, any time Bendinger needed direction for the story, she obviously referred to "Writing a Screenplay for Dummies" as she resorted to formulaic situations and convenient plot points. And you know it, Jeff! For example, Torrance's crush on Cliff (Jesse Bradford), the new kid in school, or Cliff's goth/gymnast sister Missy (Eliza Dushku), whose motive for joining the cheerleading team is as thin as Torrance and Cliff's crush; or the over-dramatic tension between the cheerleaders; or the building cheerleading rivalry between the Rancho Carne Toros and the East Compton Clovers. Nothing seemed natural. Nothing came off as intrinsic. Nothing appeared relative other than spoofing the life of a cheerleader. Does that necessarily make it a bad film? No. The fi lm does possess its share of shining moments in the incredible choreography and devotion of the cast to convey some stunnin! g stunts and creative cheers. Plus, the occasional riffs between in-school rivalries such as the jocks, male cheerleaders, annoying siblings or within the circle of cheerleaders themselves are razor sharp and terribly funny.

Jeff: Razor sharp and terribly funny? Sounds like Dave enjoyed the film more than he cares to admit. Union plays Isis, leader of the East Compton Clovers, a hip-hop cheerleading squad that moves and grooves with mesmerizing precision and loads of attitude. So good are they that the Toro's former captain stole every routine they ever did to use as her own. Realizing her entire championship career is a lie, Torrance hires a professional choreographer, Sparky Polastri (played hilariously by Ian Roberts), but soon ditches his overly dramatic routines for her own. The film ends as all sports films do, with the championship cheer-off sponsored and broadcast by ESPN. You guessed it -- the final showdown is between the Toros and the Clovers. The winner? Let's just say it's very politically correct. I took my favorite niece, Angela (who just so happens to be the mo st popular cheerleader at her high school), with me to see "Bring It On." I wanted the opinion of a honest-to-goodness chee! rleader. The final verdict, in her own words, "Cheesy." It is, but well worth a good laugh or two. I laughed a lot.