
Somewhere, in our vast universe of cinematic goodness, teenage movies have a place. All of you (now don’t lie) have a movie centred around thirty something people playing teenagers in your favourite films lists. After all, there’s Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Breakfast Club and more. When teen movies get it right, they can be heart filled, clever and funny with iconic scenes and great storylines. When they get it wrong, they can be sex filled stereotypical clichés with offensive jokes; knowing diddily-squat about their teenage audience. Bring It On kick flips into the middle being a hilariously stereotypical movie that is roughly about everyday teenagers.

Why Is It Bad?
If the synopsis wasn’t any indicator to how awful this plot is then you must be a cheerleader. I’m all understanding that cheerleaders are real people with problems but this movie is sickeningly preppy that it is hard to watch. Rather than focusing on the real plights of cheerleaders and what may happen, this first world problems are so insanely out there that you will struggle to feel some kind of sympathy for the characters. There really isn’t anything to relate to here, it’s Hollywood’s shining gleaming take on teenage life. It is outrageous and it is ridiculous, if you want to be serious and have a deep and meaningful film collection, step away from this film.

Because it is. Like Mean Girls, Bring It On has so many moments that we still talk about thirteen years later. Despite being a movie that loosely represents the teenage population, Bring It On is blooming hilarious and it means to be. The jokes are well written and generally make you laugh. One of the many highlights is the cheerleading squad being loved and admired more than the football team they cheer for and let’s not forget “spirit fingers”. Despite being a film about cheerleading and the ‘popular’ crowd, Bring It On manages to poke fun at its subject without forcing clichés down your throat. Kirsten Dunst does so well as Torrance that despite her whiny character, you actually like her and Eliza Dushku as Missy, the alternative gymnast with an attitude problem is a welcome relief to this film.
Not to mention the routines within the film are incredible so when you’re not laughing yourself stupid at the quotable lines, you are in awe of the flips, kicks and pyramids as you are transported into the real world of cheerleading; their difficult competitions.
Bring It On is a guilty pleasure that I feel bad calling it guilty because I love it so much. It is the film I first go to when I’m feeling blue because it lifts you up. You can’t help but love a film that does that. I grew up with this film shoved down my throat as everyone at school was doing the catchy cheers. It is a film that could get annoying pretty quickly. Instead, Bring it On balances the tone well. It chooses to be quirky and funny and that is pretty impressive. And it helps that the cast are completely attractive (as per teenage movies). So come in and enjoy the colourful world of cheerleading. Just smile and…
Be aggressive,
Be be aggressive.
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