Bring It On (2000)

I love Bring It On. It's as simple as that. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it, but this Friday I saw it again for the first time in a long time, and it's still fabulous (who knew?).

A US teen movie about cheerleaders shouldn't be this good. Bring It On defies convention by having a great script full of pseudo-valleyspeak and knowing humour, while the cast are all attractive and their performances all show that they are in on the joke, without being over the top or annoying. 

As a fan of Buffy and Angel, it's always nice to see the cast doing something different (as so many faded into obscurity), and particularly when Faith and Glory both get to star in a movie together! Eliza Dushku good read the phone book and make a watchable programme - she's so very hot and has a fantastic edge to her performances, and she's amazing here.

Bring It On features one of Kirsten Dunst's best roles - much better than the soppy MJ from Spider-Man - and it also features many great supporting stars, who've sadly not done much since, judging from the imdb listing. 

One of the reasons I liked this movie when I was younger, and one of the things that I love about it now, is Huntley Ritter's character, Les. I doubt there were many US movies made in 2000 that were aimed at the teen market that featured a well-adjusted, non-angst-ridden, accepting gay character like Les. He's a breath of fresh air in a genre that often features gay stereotypes as the butt of jokes. Here Les is one of the 2 main male cheerleaders, the other is Jan, who is straight - the joke being that the football players are always ribbing him for being gay since he's a cheerleader, and then the movie puts two fingers up to this sort of cliche by actually featuring a gay cheerleader. Is it post-modern? Ironic? I'm not sure, but I'm pleased they did it.

As I say, there's no issue about Les' sexuality - it's explicitly discussed once, while Eliza Dushku's Missy is trying to determine which way Jan and Les swing. The exchange between them is hilarious, sweet, and succinct:

Missy: What is your sexuality?
Les: Well, Jan's straight, and I'm... controversial.
Missy: Are you trying to tell me you speak fag?
Les: Oh, fluently.

Huntley Ritter doesn't play Les as particularly camp - at least no camper than anyone else is playing in a film about perky cheerleaders! - and so the sexuality of the character is a non-issue, really, but the writer/director seems to have a purpose for Les. There's nothing in-your-face about the message on display, but I think it's there all the same in the fact that, other than Kirsten Dunst's Torrance, he's the only character who gets some sort of a romantic sub-plot (if you can call it that).

I'd expect from movies like this that most of the characters would be paired up by the end, for a happily ever after, but Bring It On isn't that kind of film. Torrance ditches her cheating boyfriend and finds 'love' (though thankfully this is not expressed so cloyingly) by the movie's end, whereas the other characters get not even the hint of a love-story (although Jan is fairly vocal about his horniness), except for Les. It's a cute, throw-away scene that comes amidst the preparations for the big cheerleading final at the movie's finale, when Les waits for a rival cheerleader, Tim, to come backstage after he's performed:

Les: Hey. That last lift you did was amazing.
Tim: Thanks. Hey, good luck out there.
Les: Thanks, man. I'm Les.
Tim: I'm... I'm Tim.
Les: It's nice to meet you.
Tim: Hey, I'll, uh, see you around?
Les: Yeah.

And it's as simple as that. A sweet exchange that allows Les a real moment of awkward teen dialogue with his crush. It's a common enough scene for heterosexuals in Hollywood fare, but a rarity for gays. Huntley Ritter's performance is pitch perfect, showing nerves and a palpable sense of relief when everything goes well.

There are many reasons to love Bring It On, but Huntley Ritter's Les is the one that I most care for. And it just so happes that he's rather hot - allowing a hot gay boy a frisson of sexuality and a happy ending in a teen movie?? That's awesome, oh wow! Like, totally freak me out! I mean, right on!