Stick It (2006)

"...anyone can enjoy the cool gymnastics...  Box Office
"A spry teenage comedy that gets everything right...  New York Times
"A sports empowerment fantasy of the best kind.  Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Editor's Note A tale of girls flipping over and girls standing up for themselves, this movie smartly defies expectations and overturns plenty of "lone wolf learns teamwork" sports clichés in its story of Hailey (Missy Peregrim), a gymnastics prodigy turned punk rocker who earned lots of black marks after she walked out on the USA games years ago. When she's sent back into training as an alternative to reform school, Hailey must tussle with a gruff coach (Jeff Bridges) and a team full of snooty girls. But if the stage seems set for all the usual tears and triumph, guess again: screenwriter/director Jessica Bendinger (BRING IT ON) puts the punk-rock money where her mouth is, taking an unflinching look at the way coaches mislead overbearing parents, and the way constant pain, high risk of injury, and a capricious point system can crush rather than boost girls' spirits. Clever, quip-packed dialogue flows nonstop, especially from Hailey's immensely likeable male slacker buddies, and there's even some Busby Berkley-style CGI-enhanced choreography amid the displays of athletic grace and prowess. The buff Peregrim should inspire lots of boy viewers to become fans of the game, and she works well with Bridges, a veteran at displaying dog-eared charm. Few sports movies have the courage to practice what they preach in terms of breaking free from conformity, and STICK IT deserves a medal just for that, but there's plenty more to offer from this subversive yet celebratory winner.

	Jeff Bridges
	Missy Peregrym
	Tarah Paige
	Vanessa Lengies
	Daryn Okada - Cinematographer
	Gail Lyon - Producer
	Gary Barber - Executive Producer
	Jessica Bendinger - Director
	Jessica Bendinger - Writer
	Mike Simpson - Original Music By
	Troy Takaki - Editor

New York Times
"A spry teenage comedy that gets everything right....The sass crackles, the soundtrack pops....It's a lot of fun to see a genre movie leap over expectations..." 04/28/2006 p.E16

Entertainment Weekly
"[I]t lovingly music-videos every vault and flip....[The] sass trumps everything." 05/12/2006 p.58

Box Office
"[A]nyone can enjoy the cool gymnastics, particularly a couple of training numbers shot Busby Berkeley-style from a bird's-eye-view." p.59

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The film] manages to score enough points by being daftly enjoyable." 12/01/2006 p.41

Variety 7 of 10
"Stick It" doesn't. The use of the prim but rigorous world of women's gymnastics as a setting for teen rebellion is so strained it leaves the pic's ode to personal authenticity feeling as phony as a dubious decision by a competition judge. Pushing forward the smack-talking, competitive spirit that auds enjoyed in her script for "Bring It On," writer-director Jessica BendingerJessica Bendinger peppers the screen with musicvid-style spark even as her dialogue falls flat...And without a smart comedic style to push it along, even a series of visual nods to Busby Berkeley (overhead shots of gymnasts in unison) and a snappy sequence of fast-flying leapers on the bars can't rescue matters. - Robert Koehler

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
"Stick It" uses the story of a gymnast's comeback attempt as a backdrop for overwrought visual effects, music videos, sitcom dialogue and general pandering. The movie seems to fear that if it pauses long enough to actually be about gymnastics, the audience will grow restless...All of this is well enough made, although it appears to my untrained eye that some of the better gymnastics stunts are done with CGI effects. Jessica Bendinger, the writer and director, wrote the better "Bring It On" (2000), about competing cheerleading squads. Here she shows visual mastery but not visual judgment: She can do a lot of stuff that the movie doesn't really require, and it acts like a stylistic barrier between the audience and the emotions. - Roger Ebert