Remember the spirit of Bring It On?
Ahh, makes me just want to cheer. (“Hey Eliza, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow my mind. Eliza! Hey, hey Eliza!”)
As someone who was never a cheerleader (I was more into organized sports), I could still appreciate the witty dialogue and dance routines of the teen movie. And though I haven’t been enticed enough to see the sequels (Bring It On Again, Bring It On: All Or Nothing, Bring It On: In It to Win it, Bring It On Forever and Ever — OK, I made up that last one), I will always hold a special place in my heart for the Dushku/Dunst/Union flick about competitive cheer squads.
However, I am not so interested in seeing Fired Up, the new film about two dudes who try to get out of football camp and hang out with girls by becoming cheerleaders themselves.
Fired Up has gotten poor reviews, but there does seem to be one glimmer of light in the film, as several critics have pointed out: The “blunt and slightly creepy” Sylvia, played by Margo Harshman.
Sylvia comes off as having her own interest in spending time with the girls at camp, as PopMatters’ review says that she is a lesbian. (Apparently a “creepy” one, according the one review.) From what I can tell, she’s an integral part of the squad, but happens to be a little less cheery than the other blonde types that, of course, end up falling for their male counterparts. (Who I find the creepiest, BTW.)
Nonetheless, Harshman is said to be one of the only saving graces of the film, which means, I assume, that she is hilarious as the weird girl who wants to sleep with her squad-mates. Nothing like positive representation of lesbian teens who are interested in being part of a team sport!
I don’t think Harshman will be enough to get me to the theaters, but I could be easily swayed to watch it when it eventually makes its way to ABC Family, which plays all of the Bring It On movies quite frequently, I’ve noticed. Will you be seeing Fired Up?
