But it's a cheerleader comedy, you say. There's only been one good cheerleading film in mankind's history, that Texas murdering mom thing on cable ... and that was more about a murdering mom. More commonly, whenever pompoms appear in a movie, such as the current "Replacements," they represent the cranial content of the film's creators.

So, liking this thing is kind of embarrassing. And some guys just aren't going to get behind a movie about cheerleaders, no matter how witty its comedy, surprisingly solid its plotting and character work and its copious exposure of teen-age midriffs. There are several words for those kind of men, but in this case we'll just call them fools.

Anyway, "Bring It On" indeed boasts all of those virtues and many more, among them the best coming-of-age story a major studio's stumbled onto since "Clueless" and -- I gulp here -- absolutely thrilling cheers.

There, I said it. And I don't care! Being respected was nice while it lasted, but these days respect seems a fair tradeoff for that increasingly rare experience of a full-out good time at the movies.

Actually, one of the smartest moves in Jessica Bendinger's marvelously juggled script is its constant acknowledgment of just how little respect the average person naturally bears for the insufferably peppy. She constantly plays into our prejudices while sneakily accruing detail upon detail about just how much talent and hard work it takes to rise to the top of the competitive cheerleading pyramid. This narrative strategy disarms skepticism to the point where we can fully appreciate the athletic artistry of complicated cheer routines.

It's not hard to see, then, why the cheer squad at San Diego's cheekily named Rancho Carne High is the school's pride and joy. Five-time national competition winners, they outshine the fumblebum football team at every game.

At the start of her senior year, all bubbleheaded, newly anointed cheer squad captain Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) can apply her limited reserves of serious thought to maintaining her upscale alma mater's stellar reputation as America's handstand Harvard. But a series of calamitous events confirm her superstitious notion that dropping some stupid sacred baton at cheer camp cursed her ("Cheerleading urban legends?" an appalled confidant says, eyes a-rollin', upon hearing the troubled confession).

But adversity turns Torrance's brain bubbles into thought balloons. She has to pump her imagination, tax her people skills, develop both political savvy and social consciousness, confront her doubts and locate her true confidence -- all while still mainly caring about winning the nationals. In other words, Torrance must become a real leader, and it's hard to think of any actress who's charted such a thorough journey to maturity while maintaining the crack comic timing and girlish hysteria Dunst displays here.

And she can jump, too.

So can Dunst's equally entertaining co-stars. Eliza Dushku from TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" adds delectably judged mockery as a punkish gymnast transfer who can't believe she's got to work with these spirited squealers. Gabrielle Union and Natina Reed, Shamari Fears and Brandi Williams of the pop group Blaque express nicely modulated anger and pride as the East Compton Clovers, an inner city squad that Torrance learns, to her horror, that her predecessor has been ripping off for years. The male contingent is represented by Jesse Bradford's supportive skeptic and Ian Roberts' hilarious, Bob Fosse-inspired choreography Nazi.

By the way, director Peyton Reed, making his feature debut following some Disney TV movies and Comedy Central sketch shows, handles the racial conflict here as adroitly as he balances farce and precision acrobatics. Pacing and tonal management is expert throughout, even if the film could have done without the kooky, cliched teen argot some adult obviously made up. Minor characters sometimes transcend stereotypes, sometimes don't, and the sex jokes, while underplayed in comparison to most recent raunchfests, are predictably immature.

But a few flaws don't prevent "Bring It On" from winning you over. Go girls.

Reprinted from L.A. Daily News - By Bob Strauss - August 25, 2000