Week of May 4, 2006, Issue #550
FILM
Take this movie and Stick It
JOSEF BRAUN / josef@vueweekly.com
Appropriately set to an incessant soundtrack of mostly stupefyingly generic faux punk, Stick It traces the competitive comeback of 17-year-old Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), a hotshot gymnast who inexplicably blew her chance at the World’s.Haley’s anti-authoritarianism and thrill-seeking get her into hot water, while dad’s money gets her bounced from military school into enforced training with coach Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), a has-been who pays his mortgage with inflated promises of Olympic stardom.
Stick It is the directorial debut of Jessica Bendinger, who wrote Bring It On, a cheerleading movie I was not at all fond of, although I know others who have affection for it. Trading in pom-poms for poles, I don’t think Stick It quite matches Bring It On’s energy, but as it progressed—the first half is dull and meandering; the second more focused—I actually grew to like it better, finding its spirit of encouragement far more genuine than its predecessor.
The film’s weaknesses are legion: Bendinger’s exchanges of sarcastic bitchiness between Haley and her rival are unimaginative, scenes of confession or revelation feel forced and the general weakness of the screenwriting is further exposed by the bumbling use of voiceover. What’s more, all parental characters are conveniently one-dimensional in their villainy and Bridges often looks bored, especially when he’s chewing gum.
But once the gymnastics get properly underway, Peregrym suddenly embodies her character’s attitude, inner turmoil and all. The physical feats are impressive, and a neat plot twist makes a sharp commentary on the archaically poise-driven criteria employed by gymnastics judges.
All in all, the climax dazzles—if only Bendinger allowed the gymnastics to speak for themselves instead of layering them with effects so they look like a commercial for cell phones. V
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Stick It
Written & directed by Jessica Bendinger
Starring Missy Peregrym,
Jeff Bridges,Vanessa Lengies