Kirsten Dunst plays the cheerleader with a conscience in Bring It On |
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In a lot of teen movies (and in a lot of high schools), there is a stereotype about cheerleaders: stuck-up, conceited, airheaded. Like any stereotype, it isn't fair. The comedy Bring It On ( ) attempts to recast cheerleaders in a new light and it succeeds. Kirsten Dunst plays Torrance, the captain of a California high school cheerleading team. She discovers that her predecessor ripped off all their championship-winning routines from an East Compton school. Determined to do the right thing, Torrance rallies her team to create an all-new routine. But that's not as easy as it seems, especially since the National Championship is approaching and the East Compton team is going to be there for the first time. Bring It On has a little more on its mind than I initially realized. It begins as a breezy satire of the cheerleader stereotype, only to gradually reveal more substance. I liked the rivalry between the two teams (the captain of the Compton team suggests that this is just another example of black entertainment being co-opted by whites for the consumption of white audiences). As the story progresses, the two girls form an understanding and a respect that rings true. The picture also deals with smaller issues, like the fact that male cheerleaders are generally assumed to be gay, and football teams often disrespect the cheerleaders who are there to support them. Bring It On could have been a stronger movie if its satire had been a little more wicked, but I got caught up in the ideas it presented. Kirsten Dunst is terrific in her role, as is Gabrielle Union as Torrance's adversary. Watching this movie, it's impossible not to realize that cheerleading is a skill that takes dedication and talent. There are laughs and moments of thoughtfulness that make this a teen film several cuts above the norm.
Whoa! Keanu Reeves is a serial killer who stalks Marisa Tomei in The Watcher |
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I've been waiting to see Keanu Reeves play a bad guy. I vividly remember a moment early on in The Devil's Advocate in which Reeves, as a slimy lawyer, tears apart a young girl on the witness stand. There was such malice in the performance that I always thought the actor could pull off a great villain role. Maybe I was wrong. Reeves poorly plays a serial killer in The Watcher ( 1/2), a movie that visibly gets dumber the longer it goes on. James Spader portrays a Chicago cop who is tormented by the memory of a serial killer he failed to catch back in California. Reeves is that very same killer, and he misses the cop as well. In fact, he misses the cop so much, that he moves to Chicago just to be near him! (Well, that and to kill some more people.) Spader spends much of his time in the office of his therapist. She's played by Marisa Tomei in a performance so bad that the Academy should consider taking back her Oscar. Before long, Reeves starts sending Spader pictures of the women he plans to kill. The cop then has 24 hours to find the girl. So Reeves likes to kill pretty young women with long dark hair. Hmmm...doesn't Marisa Tomei have long dark hair? I smell a plot twist. The Watcher starts off pretty good. I always like watching movie cops put the pieces of a mystery together. But about half-way through, the film goes off the rails. For instance, Reeves inexplicably starts dancing with his victims before he kills them. Then there's the gonzo finale in which cop and killer meet and cop gives the killer his gun! The Watcher ends with a very cheesy looking special effect of a building blowing up; it's a perfect example of how bad special effects can harm a movie. The director, Joe Charbonic, also gets annoying with his camera tricks. Every so often - for no apparent reason - he flashes a reverse-angle negative of the image on-screen. Whenever somebody runs, the director uses a slow shutter speed to give the action a jerky look. Rather than seeming stylistic, these devices come off as desperate, like Charbonic had no clue how to stage excitement so he just began playing with the camera. I could bash The Watcher all day, but I won't bother. This film is just pathetic.
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