First off, I’d like to welcome our lovely readers to a new segment here at CSICON, called Friday Five, in which we will be serving you top five-lists of all things imaginable (and some, perhaps, un-imaginable) to put a silver lining on your Fridays. For no particular reason whatsoever, I felt it was as good an idea as any to start off with a top five post on cheerleader movies.
Of course, one could argue that cheerleaders and cheerleading is involved in a huge amount of films, and I agree; particularly American films, and even more specifically American high school or college-films, which all tend to show at least one pom-pom on some occasion. But those films are not my focus with this list. Instead, I’ve searched my mind as well as the web to conjure up a top five-list of great films in which one or several cheerleaders are the main focus of the film, or where being a cheerleader plays a very vital part in the life of the leading lady – or gentleman.
Ready? OK! Here we go!
#5 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Luke Perry and Kristy Swanson
The good old original Buffy kicks off this list, making it as far as number five due to the fact that besides being an ass-kicking, vampire-snuffing bad ass, Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson) is also an enthusiastic cheerleader.
While enjoying her teenage years in sunny Los Angeles, the beautiful but rather air-headed Buffy has no idea what her destiny really holds. Or; well, she might have a tiny clue, since she keeps having bizarre nightmares about being a vampire slayer, all set in another time than the present. But no biggie, Buffy shakes off her strange dreams and spends her time shopping, cheering and dating – and definitely not thinking.
But when a strange old man (Donald Sutherland) enters her life and reveals the true purpose of her existence, everything begins to change for Buffy, whether she wants it to, or not.
#4 Sugar & Spice (2001)
Sugar & Spice
When Diane (Marley Shelton), the head cheerleader of Lincoln High, accidentally gets pregnant, her parents refuse to support their daughter in her decision to keep the child. Mom and dad abruptly snip Diane’s funding and boot her out of the family home, leaving the mother-to-be in a rather desperate position.
At first, she and her quarterback boyfriend, Jack (James Marsden), try to make ends meet by living off of Jack’s lousy pay from his part-time position. Soon enough, they both realize that this is not a sustainable situation, especially not if you enjoy going shopping and have a taste for pretty things, which is just what Diane has. Luckily, Diane not only comes up with a plan, but she also has her unyielding cheerleader friends backing her in her newly formed plot, which is to rob a bank.
But even the best laid plans of mice and, er, cheerleaders have their flaws, and with jealous, catty cheerleader rival Lisa (Marla Sokoloff) suspiciously breathing down the group’s necks, things might get more than a bit sticky for Diane and her squad of bank robbing gals.
#3 Bring it On (2000)
Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku in Bring it On
This just might be one of the most well-known cheerleader films of the bunch, and quite rightly so, since it’s a classic story of competition, overcoming adversity, personal growth and friendship. And cheering, of course.
Five-time cheerleading champions The Rancho Carne Toros have been trained with military precision by infamous head cheerleader Big Red (Lindsay Sloane) – until now. When it’s time for Big Red to hand over the duties as captain, the task falls on Torrance (Kirsten Dunst), who lives, loves and breathes cheerleading. Unfortunately for Torrance, she starts out her new position by being one participant short. Through some aggressive persuasion Torrance manages to recruit the initially reluctant transfer student Missy (Eliza Dushku), who holds no love for cheering, but is a gifted gymnast.
With Missy on board, the troupe seem all set and ready to take on the excellent routines already choreographed by their previous leader. The only trouble is, the rhymes and moves that the Toros thought to be their own really belong to someone else and – with the cheerleader championships just round the corner – Torrance quickly finds herself battling a world of problems. But what do cheerleaders do best? Encourage, pep, and inspire others to go for the gold – including themselves. So just bring it on.
#2 But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
Katharine Towne, Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey and Natasha Lyonne in But I'm a Cheerleader
Goody two-shoes teen Megan (Natasha Lyonne) leads the perfect, normal life: she does well in school, dates a member of the football team, and is one happy cheerleader. So when she one day finds herself in the middle of an intervention held by her parents, friends and boyfriend, she’s shocked and does all she can to protest their claims. She, a lesbian? No way, she’s a cheerleader!
But since she’s a good girl Megan goes along with the wishes of her loved ones, and is shipped off to straight camp True Directions. There she will learn how to be a perfect heterosexual girl through the help of straight coach Mike (ironically played by well-known drag queen RuPaul), as well as Mary (Cathy Moriarty), the camp’s Stepford wife-esque founder. Megan also finds comfort and aid in her cheering, of course. But going straight isn’t quite as easy as Mike and Mary brutally claims, especially if you don’t really want to change. This is the case for disowned and miserable lesbian Graham (Clea DuVall), who most reluctantly participates in her straight-training, while darting mean glares at newcomer Megan.
At first, Megan still doesn’t agree to there being something the matter with her, but confronted with the other teens at True Directions, she soon gets to know herself better than she ever has before, and makes friends she never would have thought she could like before – some more than others, even.
#1 Fired Up! (2009)
Fired Up!
Topping this week’s Friday Five is the hilarious but underrated 2009 comedy Fired Up!, starring Nicholas D’Agosto as Shawn, and Eric Christian Olsen as Nick; two perfectly normal football players, but also the biggest ladies men in school.
As summer approaches, so does football camp, which means six weeks with nothing but practice day in and day out, and no other company than other guys. Sweaty, simple-minded guys, even. Our protagonists feel deeply bummed over their impending woman-less life, and are not exactly looking forward to it. So when Nick and Shawn suddenly realize that all the hot cheerleaders at school (as well as all hot cheerleaders from a bunch of other schools) will be going to cheerleader camp, the guys come up with a brilliant plan: they’re going to become cheerleaders and tag along for the cheer camp.
Naturally, this isn’t done over night, but with the help of Shawn’s little sister, the precocious, no-nonsense, junior cheerleader Poppy (Juliette Goglia), they soon find themselves well on the way to six weeks of babedom. But as everybody knows, things never go as planned, and cheerleading camp is no exception. Not only do the two football stars realize that cheerleading actually is hard work, but they might also have bitten off more than they can chew when it comes to the girls. Or, in Shawn’s case, one girl in particular.
Jam-packed with quote-worthy one-liners and sporting a twisted sense of humour, Fired Up! is 90 minutes of pure, and often surprising, joy, but it also manages to tell a plausible story as well as grant its characters some authenticity and emotion through all the kooky banter and light-hearted jokes. And this is precisely why Fired Up! is my number one cheerleader-flick – which one is yours?