Bring It On

by Tom Meek

Who knew that cheerleading was such an intense sport built upon artistic integrity? In Peyton Reed's high-school comedy, Torrance (Kirsten Dunst doing the perky-good-girl bit) is voted captain of the Toros' cheerleading squad, whereupon she promises to bring home a sixth national championship. Everything is rosy until she discovers that her team's riffs have been lifted from the Clovers, an all-sistah squad from East Compton who've never had enough green to make it to the big tumble. To redeem the Toros' name, Torrance hires a choreographer and recruits a punked-out gymnast (Eliza Dushku of Buffy fame). Then there's her sputtering love life: she busts her college beau cheating on her, and the school cynic (sneering Jesse Bradford) has a crush on her.

Most of Bring It On is lite teen-angst stuff, though there's some portentous social commentary on race and sexual preference. The film's at its sassy best when it adheres to its ESPN2-inspired roots. And the high-kicking routines and rap chants ("That's all right, that's okay, you're gonna pump our gas someday") are infectious, especially at the national championships, when the inner-city Clovers and the Polly Purebreds from San Diego "bring it" cheer-to-cheer.