Stick It

I have held off doing other posts for this past week because of my wanting to emphasize a topic for which I have a lot of personal passion, but now we return to your regularly-scheduled shallow programming. Last Saturday, I went to see the movie Stick It, written and directed by Jessica Bendinger, who wrote a movie I love, Bring It On (starring the amazing Eliza Dushku and Kirsten Dunst, the first time I really "noticed" her in a movie; now love her acting. On a side note entirely unrelated to this movie, I ran across a little trivia that a very-young Kirsten Dunst played a young Cairn girl in a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So I like her even more now).

Bring it On is a movie about cheerleaders, and it is definitely the "sister" movie to Stick It, which is about gymnastics. Both movies masterfully weave together great sarcastic humor and fun eye candy (the cheerleading routines and gymnastics competitions, respectively). However, Stick It does not quite reach to the level of its predecessor, as the overall storyline is a bit dull and predictable. There are a few moments that are powerful, particularly the confrontation between Jeff Daniels' character and Missy Peregrym's character when she walks out of the competition. But overall it is not a memorable plot. Still, one thing I can say for the movie is that it is fun. You will leave the theater having enjoyed yourself and being amazed at the athletic ability of the girls. And, if you like this movie at all, you will LOVE Bring it On.