Bring It On (2000)
Directed by Peyton Reed
The Toro cheerleading squad from Rancho Carne High School in San Diego has got spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that's sure to land them the national championship trophy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain Torrance, the Toros' road to total cheer glory takes a shady turn when she discovers that their perfectly-choreographed routines were in fact stolen.
9 connections found
View:
9 connections, in both directions
What critics compared Bring It On to
The debut work of director Jason Moore (who was nominated for a Tony for helming Avenue Q) and scripter Kay Cannon (a 30 Rock vet), the film also recalls a dulcet Mean Girls, Bring It On, and pretty much any other school-set tale about being a fish out of water, love-hate relationships, cliques, competition, and letting that little light of yours shine.
"Pitch Perfect," a scattershot but infectious comedy in the vein of "Bring It On" and TV's "Glee," is here to capitalize on the a cappella boom, although its formula -- rival performing groups compete for an award -- could be (and has been) applied to just about everything.
"Pitch Perfect" does for a capella (making music with mouths, as we're constantly reminded) what "Bring It On" was to cheerleading.
If you’re at all predisposed to the choreographed karaoke of Glee, the underdog schematics of teen competitions à la Bring It On or the Step Up cycle, and the hero-misfits of a John Hughes comedy, then this slight but sunny entertainment is something of an idiot-grin-maker.
Built on a template that’s familiar to anyone who’s seen such movies as Bring It On, this comedy uses an engaging cast and a parade of popular songs (energetically recreated by several choral groups) to create a buoyant crowd-pleaser.
Combining the energy of Bring It On, the wit of Mean Girls and the vocal abilities of Glee, Pitch Perfect is an impossible-to-dislike burst of positive energy brimming with winsome performances from a game cast.
Moreover, the fact that Bring It On is so willing to seem like a trifle and show you a good time is part of why the movie surprisingly proves even more fun and well-sustained than Amy Heckerling's durable Clueless, the new film's only rival for title of Best Recent Teen-Queen Dream Seen on Screen.
The dialogue instantly recalls the banter from "Clueless," which is more of a parody than the way these students really talk (at least, I hope it is), but the film really succeeds because it's light on provocation and heavy on comedy, music, and pumped-up choreography.
Perhaps the best entry in its genre since "Clueless," "Bring It On" has beauty, brains, spirit and even something of a social conscience, ingredients conspicuously absent from so many other recent teen comedies.
More "Showgirls" than "Clueless," "Bring It On" is the kind of dim-witted fun that's almost impossible to critique.
Additionally included: a take-it-or-leave-it "Spotlight on Location: The Making of Bring it On" promotional featurette; a montage of deleted scenes individually introduced by Reed; a separate helping of extended scenes (they push the PG-13 envelope about as far as it'll go before tearing); Blaque's video for "As If"; wardrobe and make-up tests for Dunst and co-star Eliza Dushku (grown up some since playing Schwarzenegger's daughter in True Lies); Bring it On's wan theatrical trailer, plus previews of Reality Bites, October Sky, and The Skulls; bios and production notes; a screensaver and a trivia quiz accessible via DVD-ROM; and last but not least, loose-lipped, full-length commentary from Reed that, in combination with an animated anecdotes option ("Did You Know That?"), reveal more than you ever thought you'd learn about Bring it On.-Bill…
Fifth, in a desperate attempt to replace the stricken woman, Torrance has to convince a dred-locked, sharp-tongued Garofalo type named Missy (Eliza Dushku, of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and True Lies) to complete the ranks in time for Nationals, which are barely more than a few weeks away.
Co-star Eliza Dushku, whose biggest movie role to date was as Arnold Schwarzenegger's daughter in True Lies (but who is best known for her recurring role as Faith in TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), is equally easy on the eyes.
But newcomer Missy (Eliza Dushku, "True Lies") clues Tori in - the Toros' routines were all stolen from LA's Clovers, an urban squad who intend to challenge Tori's in "Bring It On."
Wright’s cast remained, but he was replaced with Peyton Reed (Bring it On, Down with Love), a competent if less-than-distinctive substitution who was then forced to cobble together a summer tentpole from a combination of Wright’s not-totally-discarded screenplay and concepts, and his own new material.
To showcase Scott in action, director Peyton Reed ( Bring It On , Down with Love , and a few other movies machismo prevents you from liking) shrinks down to the hero's level.
The director, whose resumé includes everything from Bring It On to directing stints on New Girl , dials up a potent combination of whimsy and action while still providing room for secondary characters to flourish (Evangeline Lilly’s Hope in particular is compelling proof that there is room for powerful female characters in this universe beyond just Black Widow).
That hired gun turned out to be the not-exactly-beloved Peyton Reed, arguably best known for cheerleader comedy “Bring It On.” And, in an apparent attempt to mollify star Paul Rudd, his “Anchorman” director Adam McKay was brought on to help overhaul Wright’s screenplay.
Director Peyton Reed's background is in comedy (including "Bring It On" and the Jim Carrey vehicle "Yes Man"), which fits the lighter tone "Ant-Man" aims for.
But it’d be unfair to call his replacement – Bring It On’s Peyton Reed – a Marvel stooge, or to suggest that the things that make Ant-Man enjoyable are Wright-era vestiges.
Advertisement
Teen comedies like Bring It On (2000) and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) keep things light but are almost exclusively concerned with rich kids running amok while their parents are off doing something else.
Ruffalo ( You Can Count on Me ), with horn-rimmed glasses and messed up hair, is the techno geek who dances around in his skivvies, while Dunst , as ditzy Mary, gets the chance to show some real comic flair for once ( Bring It On doesn't count).
Even if that's too much to ask of a high school comedy, Saved! also disappoints in failure to treat evangelicals with the mix of satire and affection granted to cheerleaders in Bring It On (2000).
And here are the screenwriting team of Brian and Mark Gunn, who didn’t pen the pretty good Bring It On but the direct-to-DVD shitquel Bring It On Again, and their cowriter Richard Outten, who wrote not Pet Sematary but Pet Sematary Two.
Advertisement
The drab production lacks the cheeky exuberance of director Peyton Reed’s cheerleading flick Bring it On and the stylistic vibrancy of Down with Love, his homage to pillow-talk romantic comedies of the late ’50s and early ’60s.
He is ably aided by director Peyton Reed, who has demonstrated a deft hand with music-drenched comedy in the films Bring It On, Down With Love and The Break-Up.
But "Yes Man" -- directed by Peyton Reed ( "Bring It On," "The Break-Up" ) and written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel -- is almost unbearably lifeless, even as it struggles to provide some sort of framework for Carrey's ever-escalating mania.
The whole thing’s a little creepy, as if director Peyton Reed (“The Break-Up,” “Bring It On”) were trying desperately to hide Carrey’s age rather than incorporate it into the story.
He showed a bit of energy with the way he handled Bring It On and took a risk with Down With Love, but The Break-Up and now Yes Man are two of the most sitcom-ish major films in recent years.
The film is loosely based on a memoir by Danny Wallace, who really did spend six months saying yes to everything; it’s been fictionalized by Nicholas Stoller (director of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), Jarrad Paul, and Andrew Mogel, and directed by Peyton Reed (“Bring It On,” “The Break-Up”).