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Click above to purchase "Bring It On Collector's Edition" at
amazon.com
Bring It On
Collector's Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Universal
Running Time: 99 minutes
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford,
Gabrielle Union
Written by Jessica Bendinger
Directed by Peyton Reed
Retail Price: $26.99
Features: Commentary with Director Peyton Reed,
Spotlight On Location: The Making Of "Bring It On"
featurette, Deleted Scenes, Extended Scenes, Never Before
Seen Home Movies Of The Car Wash Scene, Wardrobe and Makeup
Tests, "Did You Know That" Text Commentary Track, Blaque "As
If" Music Video, Theatrical Trailer, Reccomendations
DVD-ROM: Screensaver, Cheer Quiz
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1,
English Subtitles, Chapter Search (20 Chapters)
A surprise smash hit for Universal, "Bring It On" not
only brought in audience, it recieved rave reviews during
its late summer opening during August 2000. I did originally
want to see it in the theaters, but I missed it, and this
DVD is a great way to experience the movie.
Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) has just been elected team
captain for the hot and sexy Toro sqaud at her San Diego
school. They think they have a shot at cheer glory to win a
major cheer competition, but their dreams pop when a rival
squad from the other side of town called the Clovers have
the same exact routine as them. The Toros must now struggle
to find some new routines. Of course, with it comes madcap
zaniness and a lot fun within it all.
This is a pretty enjoyable movie, because it's pretty
tounge-in-cheek. It's a satire of sorts, complete with it's
easy to figure out plotlines and nothing new characters.
Still, it works really, really well. The characters are
developed nicely and they are pretty funny. A lot of it
mocks the intense competition of the cheerleading world and
a lot of what goes with it. I can't recall a movie that was
all about and poked fun at cheerleading. This movie is
pretty original and again, it works really well because it's
really well made. You know what you're coming in for and you
get just that, and it's all executed really well.
First time writer Jessica Bendinger creates a whole
atmosphere that's enjoyable and light (filled with some
pretty good points), while Peyton Reed brings it to full
life. He's a pretty stylish director and I look foward to
seeing more of his work in the future (hopefully). The
acting is good, from the likes of teen star Kirsten Dunst,
Eliza Dushku and a host of others. They really bring their
roles the perfect dimension. It's not Oscar® worthy, but
it's not corny and they bring the characters and their
clichés together. And finally, the excellent
cheerleading routines complete with sexy girls and skimpy
outfits. They're pretty fun to watch. The editing in the
cheer scenes are excellent, you don't get confused and get a
nice view of things (in non-sexual ways and sexual ways you
perverts!)
"Bring It On" is really well written, editied and
directed with much thought and care. In an industry over
populated with dumb, stupid and overused teen plotlines,
"Bring It On" is one of the rare few that stand over the
crowd. All teen movies are fun in my opinion, but some are
funner and a lot better than others. "Bring It On" is in the
latter catagory. It's easy to get into it, it has a point
and again, it's plain, sassy fun. If you like a fun movie or
a teen comedy, don't miss "Bring It On". I'm sure if you
like these movies you didn't miss it in the theater.
"Bring It On" looks sparkling in its 1.85:1 anamorphic
widescreen transfer. Colors, hues and fleshtones are really
well saturated, the way things looked really impressed me.
From the bright cheerleading costumes to some really nice
exterior shots, Universal once again delivers a very fine
transfer. Detail and night shots look excellent. Despite
some shimmering here and there and a piece of dirt now and
then, this is near-reference quality. A jaw-dropping job
from Universal.
"Bring It On" has two great aggressive tracks. A Dolby
Digital 5.1 and a DTS 5.1. These are right up there with the
transfer, and like the transfer, I was surprised how good
these tracks were. They're aggressive, and they should be. A
movie with a lot of music, crowds and the like should have a
bevy of surrounds. And these tracks feature a bevy of
surrounds. The music encloses a lot, and use the channels to
good use. The games and cheer competitions feature a lot of
great split surrounds and you really feel like you're there.
There's a lot to experience and enjoy here. .1 LFE is really
good, and dialogue is clear and easy to hear, nothing
interferes. The Dolby Digital and DTS to me are literally
neck and neck, but the DTS edged it out just a little. I
felt the DTS had a little more depth and felt tighter around
the edges. Still, make no mistake, either track delivers a
great experience. A French 5.1 Dolby Digital is also
included, and so are English subtitles.
Another fine Universal Collector's Edition presents a
great array of features. First up is a Commentary With
Peyton Reed. Reed is quite chatty and his comments are
quite welcome. There are no gaps and it is a very consistent
track. He talks about filming locations, his thoughts on the
script, influences, production stories and whatnot. Reed is
very well prepared, funny and interesting, he really seemed
to have a great time making the movie. This is truly one of
the better tracks I've heard in a very long time. If you
liked the movie or were interested at all, definently don't
miss it. It's a lot of fun.
Spotlight On Location: The Making Of Bring It On
is your usual Universal featurette. It features clips,
interviews and some behind the scenes footage. It basically
explains the movie and the cast and crew's thoughts. It's
somewhat promotional, but a good watch.
There are some Deleted Scenes and Extended
Scenes. Pretty self explanitory, right? Reed gives an
intro for each, and again, he's a lot of fun to listen to.
These scenes are pretty fun, and are in non-anamorphic
widescreen and two channel sound. Reed explains why the
extended were cut down, but it is pretty obvious why the
deleted ones were deleted. Still, he gives his take and you
can view them. A nice addition. There are ten deleted scenes
and three extended scenes to watch.
Never Before Seen Home Movie Of The Car Wash Scene
is nicely introduced by Reed and it's shot in Super-8. It's
short, but still fun. It's more of a "best of what was shot"
montage.
Wardrobe And Make-Up Tests is a short look at the
tests of how the characters look played to the film's
opening cheer. It's not much, it's basically raw footage
strung together, but there's more Dunst for you, so knock
yourself out.
Did You Know That? is a pretty interesting
feature, it reminded me a lot of the VH1 show "Pop Up
Video". Esentially, it's a subtitle track where facts about
cheerleading in general and the movie show up. The boxes may
get annoying, but if you want to cram yourself with cheer
knowledge and film facts, it's here. I enjoyed it, but
because of it, you can't switch between this subtitle stream
or the English, and can't turn it off or you can't turn the
English off, so be prepared before you watch the move on how
you want to view it.
Rounding the disc off is the Music Video "As If"
from Blaque, the non-anamorphic Theatrical Trailer,
Production Notes (also in the keep case insert),
Cast and Filmmakers Bios (well, Reed is the only one
with a bio) and Universal Recomendations. You get
cheap plugs for "Billy Madison", "Uncle Buck", "Reality
Bites", "The Skulls" and
October
Sky (the last three have trailers to view). As far as
DVD-ROM features go, there's the Universal
Newsletter, a cheer quiz, screensaver and more. Plus,
there's a really nice and easy to find easter egg. It's not
much, but it's pretty enjoyable, so start hunting!
An enjoyable teen film, Universal once again delivers a
nice Collector's Edition with an incredible presentation and
a good amount of extras. If you liked the movie or teen
films in general, be sure to pick it up.
 (3.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
(4.5/5)
 (3/5)
 (4/5,
NOT an average)
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