reviewed by Charity Bishop
             

When in high school, you fall into one of two groups: you are a cheerleader, or you secretly want to be one. This film is for neither group in particular, but falls in with decent, fun entertainment with a few tricks up its sleeve and even a moral lesson or two to lightly touch on while rocking the house.

With the arrival of another school year comes the retirement of the current cheerleading captain for the Torros, five time champions in international competition. She appoints Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) in her place, believing that the level-headed senior will lead the girls (and boys) to yet another much-deserved victory. With the departure of a member of their squad to college campuses, there comes a need to find a replacement. Most of the girls who try out are sub-par, all but Missy (Eliza Dushku), a tough-talking gymnast who is going into cheerleading "as a last resort." Despite the warning of the other girls not to bring her into the mix, Torrance goes out on a limb and makes her a member of the squad. Missy misses no time in making waves, taking the new captain on a drive up the coast to show her that most of the "original" cheers they've been working on were stolen from an inner-city squad.

Faced with the last-minute decision to change their routines right before the cheerleading championships or pretend she doesn't know about the plagiarism, Torrance wants to bow out and do the right thing, but her friends pressure her into going with the flow. It blows up in their faces when the inner-city squad captain shows up to a football game with a handful of her cheerleaders to make trouble. From there the rivalry escalates into the finals, and a series of events that take the girls (and boys) from one hot spot to the next. You don't expect much from movies like this, but this one got to me. Not because it was something brilliant, but because it cried out to the inner girl alive in my soul. I love watching people work through their creativity and take problems head-on, and if nothing else, that's what Torrance and Missy go for with all their hearts. To some extent, the movie is predictable but other twists and turns throw the audience for a loop.

It's full of snazzy dance routines and peppy rallies, but has some genuine good moments among friends, particularly in the blossoming romance between Torrance and Cliff (Jesse Bradford). I cannot recommend it too loudly, because there is a fair amount of language (including a couple abuses of Jesus' name, and a dozen or more uses of the s-word) and to some extent, the cheerleaders' routines are sexualized. Not so much in performance as innuendo among the male/female squad members (one of the boys "fingers" a girl during a cheer), and occasionally risqué lyrics. To make money, the cheerleaders don skimpy bikinis and wash cars. One of the girls trying out does a sleazy dance, and crawls around suggestively on the table in front of a male squad member. Torrance's boyfriend is cheating on her (implied, but not graphically shown). There's some provocative single dancing during the closing credits, along with a muted f-word. Torrance also has a nightmare in the opening scene about losing her top during a cheer (we only see her bare back). One might ask if the movie is worth it. I would recommend catching it on television, since the language is toned down, but not watching it with the guys. There's a little too much skin to make most females comfortable with a guy around.