Hip Stick It Lacks "Zing"

     Stick It could have been titled Bring It On Jr.. It features the same brand of humor only without the fresh snap. That is not to say that anything in the motion picture is stale; the jokes just don’t present quite the same "zing effect" that those in Bring It On did. The biting lines of dialogue in Bring It On are the reasons that the flick became somewhat of a cult hit. Needless to say, without the same level of vigor Stick It won’t be around as long and is just an enjoyable film.

     It is not for lack of trying on the part of writer Jessica Bendinger, who also wrote Bring It On and Aquamarine. She put a healthy effort into the screenplay – "It’s not called gym-nice-tics." However, it is probably the nature of the sport that prevents Stick It from being anything more than a mediocre movie. Somehow, gymnastics doesn’t quite match up to cheerleading when it comes to transposing it over to cinema. If you think about it, the innate dialogue is missing from gymnastics (in other words, it is no talk and all action), thus an important natural-flowing element becomes relatively forced.

     Of course, the movie has a few flaws that could have been easily prevented, though. The cast of characters are likeable in Stick It but they are not quite colorful enough. There is not enough diversity and, in a way, this leads to the sport being taken a bit more seriously than it probably should be in this certain flick. The film also lacks the big climactic moment at the end that could have possibly redeemed it for its other shortcomings. It has a satisfying conclusion yet fails to bring the audience to their feet (other than to leave, that is).

     Stick It stars Missy Peregrym (of the short-lived ABC television series Life As We Know It) as Haley Graham, a gymnast that inexplicably walked out on World several years ago. In the meantime, Haley fell into the life of a troublemaker and, after bicycle mishap, is ordered by a judge to choose between hard time or training at a gymnastics academy. Haley chooses hard time and, much to her dismay, the judge orders the opposite.

     Haley arrives at the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy where Burt Vickerman, played by Jeff Bridges, is her coach. Haley is hardly well-received by her fellow trainees who can’t help but remember her World disaster. Haley is not exactly overjoyed to be there, either, but eventually rediscovers why she ever entered the sport. Winning the gold is a different dilemma all of its own, though, and it takes a lot of practice and a bit of aptitude to surmount the impositions of the judges’ ancient rules.

     It is easy to invest some interest in the girls in Stick It. They are good actresses and Peregrym does a great job in the lead role. She is charming enough to carry the motion picture and her bond with Bridges is endearing. In addition, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little impressed with the gymnastics stunts performed during the championship, which are livened up by a bit of energetic music.

     Despite its faults, Stick It is still worthwhile for anyone that got a kick out of Bring It On. It is a fun, albeit pointless, feature film that has what it takes to entertain just about anybody. There are quite a few mild laughs to be had in this very hip flick, it is just unfortunate that it holds back in order to remain appropriate for the younger set. With a little more "zing," Stick It could have been another cult hit able to withstand the test of time. But I’ll settle for the fun when I can get it – right now.