I really didn’t want to watch Stick It, but ended up being drawn into it with the story of a rebel who eventually finds her cause. It also never hurts things to have an actor of Jeff Bridges’ stature around either.
Haley is a juvenile delinquent who finally has to pay the price. She’s sent to a gymnastics academy to be whipped back into shape since she walked out on gymnastic competition and cost her team dearly.
We start our story with some kids fooling around in a pool under construction on a home site. The kids are riding their bikes and doing tricks in the pool when some skater kids show up and want to take over the pool. It’s decided that they’ll challenge each other to see who has use of the pool. They have to go from the roof, down the pools slide, and into the pool without wiping out. Skater dude doesn’t entirely make it.
The kid on the bike performs perfectly and does another trick to celebrate and ends up going through the house’s picture window and getting their bike stuck in the house. The kid takes off to avoid the police who are summoned by the house’s howling security system. As the bike kid takes off the hooded coat they were wearing the whole time we see that he is a she. The she in question is Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) and she’s caught by the approaching police, who are well aware of her antics. She’s taken before the judge (Polly “Kiss my Grits” Holliday) and is given a choice – VGA or Texas Military Academy. Haley chooses Texas Military Academy so the judge sentences her to VGA. She bids a fond farewell to her two buds Frank (Kellan Lutz) and Poot (John Patrick Amedori) and heads off to VGA (though they promise to break her out).
Turns out that VGA stands for Vickerman’s Gymnastic Academy. It’s run by former gymnast Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) who could’ve gone to the top if he wasn’t sidelined by an injury and forced into teaching the gymnasts of the future (and talking their mother’s out of their money with tales of their kiddies earning Olympic gold). Haley could’ve really made it at the Olympics, but at the final qualifying match she walked away and disqualified her entire team.
Haley is a rebel who finally finds her cause
This earned her a pariah status in the world of gymnastics. Vickerman knows that Haley has the stuff to make it all the way to the final Olympic tryouts but her potential teammates Joanne (Vanessa Lengies), Wei Wei (Nicki SooHoo), and Mina (Maddy Curley) have their doubts. However, Haley works hard and the team makes it to the final competition, but when the judges count off of Mina’s perfect performance for a silly rule (Mina’s bra-strap was showing) Haley’s rebellious nature rises again – and is catching.
I thought all the girls gave wonderful performances and I really liked the comedic take on the world of gymnastics. Though Frank and Poot’s mis-adventures seemed a little too American Pie-ish (thought PG-13 pie) for my tastes, but they didn’t detract too much.
Anyone who has been in any sort of competition (especially gymnastics) will appreciate when the girls decide to rebel against the judges, because of some of their arcane rules, and let the person that they know is the best amongst them carry the competitions.
Stick It is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include 8 deleted scenes with optional cast or crew commentaries. There’s also 3 minutes of bloopers and outtakes. The show also has two commentaries.
The first commentary is with writer/director Jessica Bendinger, Missy Peregrym, and Vanessa Lengies. The other is with Bendinger, cinematographer Daryn Okada, and editor Troy Takaki. Next is a 4 minute featurette called “Hard Corps: The real Gymnasts of Stick It.” Along the same sort of lines the also 9 minutes of the full routines of real gymnasts Nastia Livkin and Isabelle Severino.
Joanne, Haley, Wei Wei, and Mina
As well as the 8 minute “Judges Table” which features the uneven bar routines of Severino and Annie Gagnon filmed in slow motion. Finally, there’s the “We Run This” and “Crowded” music video.
I never thought that I’d like a movie about gymnastics, but I did. It helped that it was a comedy. If you’ve ever wanted to tell the Judge’s table to stick it then you’ll probably like it too. Just don’t tell DVD reviewers to stick it – that would be wrong.
Stick It is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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