directed by peyton reed . screenplay by jessica bendinger . starring kirsten dunst , eliza dushku , gabrielle union . running time : 98 minutes . rated pg for mild language by the mfcb . reviewed on august 28th , 2000 . here we have it : " bring it on " , the first feature film targeted at ten year-olds with the sensibilities of an adult . or maybe at adults with the mindset of a ten year-old ; frankly , it's hard to tell . either way , " bring it on " is an uncomfortable melding of an after-school special plot with distinctly mature humor . it's not quite paedophilia , fortunately , but at times it comes disturbingly close . whereas movies like " american pie " are up-front about their attitude toward sex and profanity , " bring it on " couches its mature content in a maudlin , juvenile storyline . who is this film aimed at ? the swearing and sensuality is clearly not for the young . the story will bore anyone out of knee socks and pigtails . " bring it on " tries to appeal to all demographics , and in doing so becomes a peculiar hybrid suitable for none . torrance " tor " shipman ( kirsten dunst ) is the new captain of the cheerleading squad at rancho carne , a high school in a well-to-do san diego neighbourhood . although the school football team is a perpetual disaster , the cheerleaders are champions , having placed first in the nationals for five years running . the squad looks set for another easy victory until new recruit missy ( played by eliza dushku , the psychotic slayer faith on tv's " buffy the vampire slayer " ) realises that all their routines have been cribbed from the cheerleaders of east compton high in urban san diego . tor is faced with having to develop an entirely new set of cheers in just three weeks , before the big showdown with east compton and its captain , isis ( gabrielle union ) , at the national championships . " bring it on " reads like a litany of teen-melodrama cliches . there are , of course , the snobby white girls and the hip but poor black girls . there's tor's unfaithful college boyfriend and the new boy who's perfect for her -- if it weren't for the misunderstandings which keep them apart . there's the leadership challenge tor must endure , and the inevitable climactic meet which will decide everything . oh , and let's not forget the syrupy-sweet conclusion in which all wrongs are righted , and everybody goes home happy . but most damning of all is the fact that , for long stretches of time , " bring it on " just isn't funny . partly this is because the filmmakers seem uncertain about whether they're making a satire or a serious movie , and so the jokes just cease while they go about advancing the plot . and partly this is because the raunchy humor is such a poor fit with the general attitude of the picture . several jokes aroused only uncomfortable chuckles from the audience during the screening i attended , accompanied by much squirming and shifting in the seats . scenes in which the cheerleaders parade about in their underwear , or one in which a male cheerleader " inadvertently " lets his fingers slip while holding up a pantie-less female cheerleader , sit uncomfortably next to the simple moralising of jessica bendinger's screenplay . indeed , " bring it on " feels like a movie which underwent a major rethink halfway through production . i'm not sure if it started out as a sharp pastiche on cheerleading which was subverted into something more homogeneous , or if it was originally just a standard kids' movie later spiced up to bring in the adults . without a doubt , i would have preferred either to the end result . to be fair , there are some good moments . for example , a sequence in which a desperate tor hires a professional choreographer to discipline her troupe is a lot of fun , as the dancer ( ian roberts ) proceeds to tear apart each and every member of the rancho carne squad . dunst manages to preserve her natural charm despite the poor quality of her material . she makes a real effort here , but she's fighting an uphill battle and just can't make the movie succeed on her own . dushku is also very good , although the script never really finds anything for missy to do after her introduction as a rebellious gymnast . she spends the rest of the film acting like dunst's shadow , the third wheel in the romantic subplot involving tor and missy's brother cliff ( jesse bradford ) . less laudable is the movie's treatment of the east compton squad . their appearances are so brief that none of them benefit from any character development whatsoever , not even gabrielle union's isis . this is unfortunate because when she is on screen , union demonstrates a real presence , and i was hoping to see more of her . further , the flimsy portrayal of the east compton troupe ensures that their rivalry with the rancho carne cheerleaders is all but devoid of tension or excitement . it is difficult for the audience to get excited about a competition when one side is virtually unknown . also unimpressive is peyton reed's pedantic direction . whereas movies of this sort often excel at showcasing their subject material , if nothing else ( " center stage " 's exposure of ballet is a good recent example ) , " bring it on " does cheerleading no real favours . despite the energy and enthusiasm of the cast , their routines are filmed in a dull and commonplace manner . as much time is spent on sending up the sport as it is on portraying the real trials and tribulations it incurs . there is little in " bring it on " to suggest that cheerleaders are , as roberts' choreographer puts it , anything other than " dancers who have gone retarded " . an ill-conceived motion picture from start to finish , " bring it on " is one of those rare films which isn't just dull or insipid , but is occasionally embarrassing to watch . only some lively performances save this from the scrap heap of the truly dreadful . " bring it on " ? do us all a favour -- please , don't . copyright © 2000 shannon patrick sullivan . archived at the popcorn gallery , <a href= " http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/bringiton . html " >http : //www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies/bringiton . html</a> _______________________________________________________________________ / shannon patrick sullivan | " we are all in the gutter , but some of us \ | <a href= " mailto : shannon@mun . ca " >shannon@mun . ca</a> | are looking at the stars . " - oscar wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | popcorn gallery movie reviews www . physics . mun . ca/~sps/movies . html | | doctor who : a brief history of time ( travel ) /drwho . html | 
