Who Gives A Tuck? (Bring It On - In It To Win It (DVD))

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Bring It On - In It To Win It (DVD)
Date:	15/06/09 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not as bad as #2 and #3

Disadvantages: Still forgetable

My approach to the never-ending string of Bring It On sequels is a bit like when you see a gory car crash, or here in Mexico, a gory body on the front page of a newspaper since this is a country where it's not sex that sells, it's missing limbs and massive holes in heads. Either way, I know I should look away...but I can't. This is Bring It On 4 the latest, but not that last film in the series (#5 is currently in post-production). However, although there seemed to be a downhill trend following the original film, this one is really not bad, and considerably more watchable than films BIO Again (#2) and BIO All or Nothing (#3).

The original film took place at a high school and later in a cheer camp. The second was in college, and the third back in high school, albeit a decidedly rougher one than the first. This time it's déjà-vu again, as the film takes place entirely at cheer camp in Florida, though the kids are supposed to be high school age.

The plot is blatantly and unapologetically based on West Side Story (and therefore also Romeo and Juliet). There are two rival teams, the Jets and the Sharks who have been sworn enemies for as long as anyone can remember, and are back at camp to hone their skills before a massive cheer off competition, with a world tour for the winners up for grabs. Things are going fine until a boy from one team falls for a girl in the other and, well, you know the rest. When an illegal, middle of the night escapade goes wrong, the teams are forced to put aside their differences and work together for the sake of the competition.

The film is delightfully and ludicrously far-fetched a lot of the time. When the teams aren't giving impromptu cheers on the fake sand beach in their bikinis, one of their captains is plugged into her iPod and practicing moves alone, right in the middle of a theme park, as you do. Her opposing captain, on the other hand, is more likely to be found reading 'The Art of War', despite probably having only a 5th grade reading level. As for the dialogue, think cheesier than a Quattro Formaggi pizza: "Team work makes the dream work", "She's the Olymbitch champion" and, the origin of this review's title, "I don't give a tuck what you think".

I do think the film might have broader appeal than some of the earlier attempts, if only thanks to the costume designer. The cheer uniforms are skimpier than before, and unforgiving on some of the fuller figures in the cast, but half the time they wear nothing more than string bikinis. This is in part due to the setting - the camp and competition take place in Orlando - and brings me on to my next point. Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're watching a film or just a 90 minute promo for Universal Studios and the Hard Rock Hotel, so much screen time do these two places get.

There is no one in the cast from earlier BIO films, nor anyone with whom I was familiar. Carson (in the Maria / Juliet role) looks alarmingly similar to Melissa Joan Hart (Clarissa Explains It All / Sabrina The Teenage Witch) but, apparently, the two are entirely unrelated. Jennifer Tisdale, who plays ditsy Jets sidekick Chelsea is the older sister of High School Musical's Ashley Tisdale (who also sings on the soundtrack for the movie) but that's as close as you'll come to a famous face.

There is some good music in the film, with bouncy tracks from Beyoncé, Hillary Duff, Aly and AJ and the aforementioned Tisdale. The cheer sequences are also impressive if you don't look too closely - ardent cheer fans may just get irritated by the blatant flouting of the rules in pretty much every scene.

This film is watchable but forgettable - I first saw it just before Christmas, and had forgotten most of the good parts by the time I watched it again. I suppose this makes it worth a purchase since you can re-watch it and it's like it's a new film, but on the flip side, the reason it's not memorable is because it's nothing really new, and struggles to stand out from other films in this genre.

This film was unsurprisingly a straight-to-DVD release. The Region 2 version can be bought off Amazon for about a fiver.

Summary: Watch it or don't...no one gives a tuck