Seen that way, Bring It On is a slight, reasonably entertaining way to waste a couple hours. It would have been a lot better if it had some teeth to it, like Election. But psychotically peppy cheerleaders are always good for a laugh. And at least these girls can spell, which is more than you can say for my high school's cheerleading squad, which once spelled "victory" V-I-C-T-R-O-Y during a pep rally. And then there were Duke's Dancing Devils, a team of breathtakingly incompetent cheer dancers clad in black spandex bodysuits.... But I digress. Kirsten Dunst is great as cheerleading captain Torrance, as perky and persuasive as (though far less scary than) Reese Witherspoon in Election. Eliza Dushku and Jesse Bradford are fun as the cynical, reluctant cheerleader and her cute, alterna-babe brother (who have the incongruously non-alt names of Missy and Cliff). Then there are like two girls in the cheerleading squad who are Tori Spelling clones, which is a really scary thought -- isn't one Tori Spelling already too much?
Actually, the most horrifying part of the movie came afterwards, when I went out into the lobby and saw all the little nine-year-old girls who had been in the theater imitating the cheers (which no doubt pleased the hell out of their parents, given that some of the moves looked like they'd be more appropriate on a strip-club stage). Oh god -- it's a recruiting film! This is how they suck innocent little girls into their creepy world of maniacal smiles, unnatural pep, and frenzied, electrocuted-fish spasms. If you enjoy fluffy teen comedies, you'll get a kick (get it?!) out of Bring It On. But, for heaven's sake, don't take any young, impressionable children.
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