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Teenage rebel Haley Graham gets into trouble with the police once too often and is sentenced to her personal idea of hell; Vickerman Gymnastics Academy. Having walked out on the world championship finals two years before it's the last place she wants to be. And she's the last person the other gymnasts want to see. But given the chance to prove herself, win some money in competition and get out of the school, she finally buckles down to training, learning more about herself than she though possible.
If you think this film sounds hackneyed from the synopsis, you'd be right. There is no cliché left unused in "Bring it On" writer Jessica Bendinger's first film as a director. It follows the girly sports/dance template to the letter. The edgy outsider, who doesn't wan to partake of the activity is forced into it by circumstance and immediately comes up against strong opposition. She and the coach don't see eye to eye but eventually come to understand and respect one another. Her maverick attitude endears her to some team-mates but makes her the sworn enemy of the team bitch. She undergoes strenuous training to make it to the big final where she even wins the respect of her rivals and the fist-pumping climax ensues. I suppose at least she doesn't win the love of a goofy but sweet guy in the process. All the teen movie archetypes are here too; the devil-may-care rebel, the bitch (who also happens to be the brainless bimbo), the loyal friends, the goofy guy, the gruff but caring coach, the pushy mother and the glacial former best friend/team-mate. Even Haley's troubled home-life is predictable and there is of course the excruciating routine where inappropriate break-dancing rears its ugly head. And obviously there is a scene where the gymnasts break
out of their routine and go and do something fun, which, in this case involves doing gymnastics in prom dresses around a shopping mall.
But although the story and relationships may be by-the-numbers, it is carried by the swift pacing and snappy dialogue. Haley is the sort of stroppy teenager with an answer for everything and she spends much of her time insulting her coach or bitchy team-mate Joanna. And Joanna's speech is peppered with constant word misuse, like telling her coach to "remember the penile code". The other thing that makes the film slightly different to others is the use of fantasy, where the gymnasts imagine the judges trying to do what they do or trying to take the podium from them. But you get the impression Bendinger could have used a stronger editorial hand as the movie coasts through two different ending before finally settling on a third.
Bendinger's direction uses all the shortcuts we've come to expect from sports movies; there are training montages galore, repeated sequences that show how strenuous the activities are and oodles of action-replays. And in the fashionable style, it appears to have been edited by someone with ADD. So there are plenty of jump cuts and nosebleed edited action sequences. This is particularly true of the opening BMX stunts and to be fair it does add a certain frisson to the action. It also keeps the pace up and means that little time is wasted on scenes between the action. And as this is a pretty basic sports movie, it's not as though you need anyone to fill in the blanks for you. But should you be missing the point, Haley helpfully narrates the action just so you know how difficult gymnastics is and what she's feeling.
However, Bendinger has come up with some more innovative ways of making gymnastics feel exciting. As well as shooting synchronised floor exercise from the rafters so they look like Busby Berkley routines, multiple gymnasts have been superimposed onto the same apparatus to create a colourful and impressive display of technique that is slowed down slightly to make the athletes appear almost superhuman. It is particularly watchable when it looks as though the gymnasts are using the apparatus at the same time, leaping over each other. Effects work is also used to create a kaleidoscope effect of the girls performing their floor routines, so one gymnast makes a move and it is mirrored by three digital versions of herself. So though the direction and writing may be clichéd, it is still sprightly and makes for an entertaining hundred and three minutes.
The oddly named Missy Peregrym is a sassy lead with bags of attitude, nice timing and able to project a real sense of entitlement for Haley. That she is clearly about ten years too old for the part is by-the-by, seeing as most of the cast are way too old. She's limber enough to convince as a gymnast and this means the crossover between her and her stunt double is almost seamless. She's also impossibly toned and has the nous to throw away lines one after the other, so the dialogue sparkles. But I would like to see her playing closer to her own age.
Vanessa Lengies plays VGA's queen bee Joanna Charis with zest. She's a bitchy drama queen, who is entirely self-obsessed (watch as she celebrates her return to the team as one of her fellow students takes a nasty fall). But she's also a squealing airhead with all the brains of a leaf salad. Lengies gets away with the character because she plays it straight, never acknowledging that her malapropisms are meant to be funny or by consciously dumbing Joanna down. As a result, there are some really sparky spats between her and Haley.
I'm not sure what Jeff Bridges is doing here as gymnastics coach Burt Vickerman. It's a mumbling, rumpled, grumpy turn that he pretty much phones in, but his timing is good and he has a reasonable amount of chemistry with his students, so it just about works.
The soundtrack is a grab bag of teen movie musical standards. So there's rap, hip-hop, R 'n' B, scratch, punky pop courtesy of Green Day and some more unusual additions like "Goody Two Shoes", "Papa Loves Mambo" and K7's "Come Baby Come", which is utterly disgraced in its usage for the break-dancing on the beam sequence. Mike Simpson's score is par for the course for this type of movie. So there's plenty of military snare drum when Haley receives her punishment and for her early training montages. Of course as this is an American film, electric guitars feature heavily during the action scenes and anything even a tiny bit sad is swamped in mawkish solo piano. Like the rest of the movie, the music is entirely predictable.
The gymnastics on display throughout is of a fairly high calibre. This is probably because there are some previously and currently world-ranked gymnasts in the cast. So there are all manner of flips, tucks, rolls and leaps on the beam and floor and a cornucopia of aerial acrobatics on the asymmetric bars, vault and trampoline. Especially in conjunction with Bendinger's visual tricks, it makes for an impressive display.
"Stick It" is yet another enjoyable but unoriginal addition to the teen movie genre. It presents hackneyed material in fast-paced and enthusiastic fashion and manages to make gymnastics look exciting. However, I couldn't help but wish it was a little more like Bendinger's "Bring It On" in terms of the levels of bitchiness and rivalry. It's just not quite as sharp as her previous work. Though it may not be anything new, it's the sort of film that could easily become a guilty pleasure. I wouldn't pay money to see it at the cinema, but if there's nothing else out at the video shop, you could do worse.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Newcomer Missy Peregrym and veteran star Jeff Bridges lead a hot young cast in Stick It. ... more
After a scrape with the law, Haley Graham (Peregrym), a rebellious ex-gymnast, finds herself sentenced to a fate worse than jail - attending an elite gymnastics ac...
Advantages: Funny, instant pick me up and deals with some problems you may be able to relate to Disadvantages: It's over too soon, addictive (though you may see that as an advantage)
![Stick It [DVD] [2006]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78180702.jpg "Stick It [DVD] [2006]")
Feb 19th, 2007
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