'Stick It'

By Hanh Nguyen, Zap2It.com | April 27, 2006

'Stick It'

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Bobbles at the beginning, but lands on its feet in the end

"Stick It," by the writer of cheerleading comedy "Bring It On," takes several tumbles in the humor department, but in the end lands on its feet with a fascinating insider's look into the sacrifice and politics behind competitive gymnastics.

Writer Jessica Bendinger, who makes her directorial debut here, also deserves credit for casting relative newcomer Missy Peregrym as the rebel protagonist Haley, who was once a top competetive gymnast until she walked out on her teammates at the World Championships two years ago. Now at 17, she's had one too many run-ins with the law, and to avoid juvey, must attend an elite gymnastics academy run by the Coach Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), a stickler for "safe" routines.

Peregrym gives sassy strength to Haley, who moves past the snotty teen act to become a likeable character. Similarly, Vickerman isn't just a gruff, one-trick pony and practices good-natured tough love on his gymnasts. And while the secondary characters are rather one-dimensional, at least they're colorful, only occasionally bordering on annoying in the case of Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), Haley's dim, narcissitic, malapropism-spouting rival.

Bendinger, who brought us kitchy language like "cheerocracy" from "Bring It On," tries for more of the same freshness this time around, but with mixed results. Pretty much all of Joanne's dialogue falls horribly flat, like when she confuses a GED with a DUI, or when someone asks if she's "deja jealous." There are moments, though, when you just have to embrace the deliberately cheesy silliness, like when one gymnast asks, "Who died and made you Nadia?"

Although Peregrym and Bridges give solid performances, gymnastics is the real star in this film. Anyone who dismissed the sport as foofy or decorative will gain new respect for the physical punishment these girls endure to give the illusion of effortless perfection. They force their adolescent bodies to perform incredible feats of strength, agility and balance at the cost of living at home, a normal social life and body free of constant strain.

"Stick It" necessarily tweaks the typical sports film formula since in gymnastics, teamwork and individual ambition coexist in an uneasy relationship. The ending isn't what you'd expect: the girls take a wildly fantastical, unconventional path to victory that has less to do with digging deep and giving their all and more to do with bucking tradition and challenging an antiquated system of judging.

Although Bendinger goes overboard with her contrived jokes and too-serious angst, what she lacks in discipline she makes up for in energy derived from a love and respect for a sport she once competed in herself. She infuses her training scenes with vibrant colors; shoots from dramatic angles (note a Bubsby Berkeley-esque stretching sequence); uses green screen to superimpose multiple gymnasts over each other to create a kinetic, kaleidoscope of activity and focuses on tiny insider images, like the girls spraying the adhesive Tuff Skin onto their bottoms so their leotard won't ride up.

"Stick It" begins roughly, but once it settles into the meat of the story, Bendinger is on more solid footing and delivers a 6.5 out of 10.