Writer-director Jessica Bendinger follows up her cheerleading comedy Bring It On with this formulaic gymnastics flick in which a former superstar in the sport—now a rowdy, rude, risk-taking tomboy—is sentenced to attend a gymnastics camp run by a quirkily demanding coach (Jeff Bridges) in lieu of spending time in juvenile hall. After initially balking, Haley (Missy Peregrym) eventually gets back into shape, gains the friendship of even her cattiest classmates, and goes off to a major tournament, where she organizes a unique protest against the staid decisions of the judges (of course, she also bonds with the idiosyncratic coach, who serves as a surrogate parental figure). Clearly designed as an uplifting bit of fluff about troubled teens learning to feel good about themselves thanks to discipline and pluck, ‘tween girls may enjoy Stick It's mixture of silly comedy and last-act sentimentality, but others will find it painful to watch a good actor like Bridges trying to make something out of a stock part like the coach (and all should be annoyed by the waist-down shots used to try to conceal the obvious fact that the cast isn't really performing the stunts). The title, incidentally, is a slang term indicating a perfect gymnastic landing…which this isn't. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by writer-director Jessica Bendinger and costars Missy Peregrym and Vanessa Lengies; the other by Bendinger, cinematographer Daryn Okada, and editor Troy Takaki), eight deleted scenes (13 min.), nine minutes of “The Elites” full gymnastic routines with optional commentary, “The Judges Table” featurette on uneven bar routines seen in slow motion (9 min.), “Hard Corps” on the stunt double gymnasts (5 min.), bloopers and outtakes (4 min.), the Missy Elliot music video “We Run This,” the “Crowded” music video by Jeannie Ortega featuring Papoose, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)
Stick It
Touchstone, 103 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Sept. 19 Volume 21, Issue 5
Stick It
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