Stick It
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Movie Reviews of Stick It
Movie Review: It's Not Quite A Ten
Summary: 4 Stars
"Stick It" had tough competition right out of the gates. Written and directed by "Bring It On" writer, Jessica Bendinger, everyone expected something along the same lines as that cheerleading comedy which, as time has passed, has become rather tired and corny. In all honesty, I feel that "Stick It" has potential to remain a solid film long after "Bring It On" has begun to gather dust on the DVD shelf.
In "Stick It," the very unlikeable Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) winds up in court and her only options to stay out of jail are Texas Military Academy or VGA, Vickerman Gymnastics Academy, headed up by Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges). You see, Graham has a past in the gymnastics world, and she isn't welcomed very warmly, especially by her new teammates. Graham is obnoxious, selfish, and pretty much a brat. But as the film progresses and we begin to see more layers peel off of Graham's fake tough outer shell, we realize that she isn't all that terrible.
The climax of the film is very unbelievable, but it works in the format that it's presented in. Bridges and Peregrym play off of each other very well, and you eventually hope to see both succeed in the end. The supporting cast is wonderful, especially Peregrym's gymnastics mates, Joanna (Vanessa Lengies), Wei Wei (Nikki SooHoo), and Mina (Maddy Curley). These three alone are worth watching this film. Hopefully they will all have solid future careers.
Overall, this film is sort of formulaic, but it has just enough edge and just enough comedy to keep it from going stale. It fortunately tones down some of the silliness that plagued "Bring It On," and finds a decent balance between giddy teen fun and decent drama. The gymnastics sequences are nice to watch, but it's the training sequences that can become painful to see.
Mildly recommended to fans of teen comedy, but for those who enjoy decent drama/comedy, this is a definite flick to watch.
Movie Review: "It's not called Gym'nice'tics"
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not the world's most athletic person. I'll admit that freely. I'll also admit that when sports come on, I tend to fall asleep. But there's just something about gymnastics that captures my attention. I think that's part of what made this movie really capture my attention.
The plot follows failed gymnastic athlete Hayley as she is forced to rejoin the world she left behind after a biking trick lands her in police custody. Universally hated for throwing her old team's chance at gold at the World Championship, Haley finds that picking up where she left is easier said than done.
I really did like this movie. I may not be able to understand everything that the gymnasts go through, but this movie made everyone's struggles easy to relate to. I also liked that the characters were well layered. Sure, we can all see Haley's reasons for being who she is but it takes a good script & acting to show that the mean girl teammate Joanne also has her reasons for being who she is. I really do like that they aren't pushing the whole "mean people are mean & the good people are good". I also loved Jeff Bridges in this movie. He pretty much made the movie for me.
I just really liked that this movie didn't fall prey to the usual cliches of teen & feel good movies. Too often you see the film have a cliche of "the main character wins", so it's nice to see something different for a change.
Even if you aren't a sports fan, you'll like this movie. There's a moral to the movie of course, but the biggest draw of the movie is the teamwork. Even the least athletically inclined can get into this movie!
Movie Review: "It's not called gymNICEstics"
Summary: 4 Stars
Stick It is a teen-comedy about a former gymnast turned BMX biker who gets sent back to an elite gymnastics program after pulling a reckless stunt. When she's given the choice between the Texas Military Academy or VGA (the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy), Haley Graham chooses the former. Unfortunately, her judge has a sense of humor and sends her to VGA.
After walking out on the world championships before her floor exercise and costing Team USA the gold, Haley is not the most popular girl in the gym. In fact, she's downright hated to the point of people throwing drinks in her face. Still she perseveres when her coach tells her that if she participates in one contest, she might earn enough money to pay her fine and return to her life of crime.
Stick It isn't as funny as Bring It On, in my opinion, but it makes up for it in other ways. The humor is more toned down but still full of great one-liners. Case in point are lines like, "I have a constitutional right to bare arms," and "Coach if you do this you'll have a cardiovasectomy." It's stupid humor, but amusing nonetheless. If you like teen sports movies like Bring It On, Step Up, and Center Stage, you'll enjoy this one. It's on par with the rest and definitely worth at least one viewing.
Movie Review: Awesome movie BUT
Summary: 4 Stars
I did not expect much from this movie to be honest. I saw it advertised and I saw it out on DVD. I thought it would be very lame. That is why it took me this long to watch it. I only watched it because it came on television and there was literally nothing else to watch. To my complete shock, it was terrific! The actress was the main reason this movie was so great. She was definitely channeling Hillary Swank (circa Karate Kid 3). However, she is a much prettier Hillary Swank. Having said that, she is also hilarious. To be honest, I see this actress having a great future b/c she made the whole movie. If it had not been for her, this movie would have just been another "made for tv" type of movie.
My daughter was in competitive gymnastics for many years so we also enjoyed the message behind it. It was especially true how a lot of coaches will fill people's minds with hopes of the Olympics so that they can get their money.
The reason I did not give this 4 stars is because of the cheesy sections where it suddenly felt like I had been pulled into an early 80's MTV video. A bad one.If not for these horrid detours, I would have given it a 5.
Movie Review: Stick it in your video library, why don't ya?
Summary: 4 Stars
I am LONG past the age where I seek out teen comedies to watch. Just don't have the appetite for them anymore. But I stumbled on this today while channel surfing. It is witty, sassy, not at all vulgar or in poor taste, and hovers around being corny and formulaic without actual landing on it. In other words, it rises head-and-shoulders above the vast majority of teen comedies.
The lead actresses are not competition-caliber gymnasts, but you'd never know it. The editing is so SEAMLESS that I just couldn't tell where the actresses ended and the stunt doubles began. In fact, I had to check Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database just to see if the film used real gymnasts as the leads. THAT'S how hard it was to tell the actresses from their doubles.
Okay, so this movie WAS a bit formulaic. But it was executed well, and that counts for a lot. I enjoyed it a great deal.