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Stick It is set in the world of women’s gymnastics, showing audiences that the sport widely known for brutal training, ruthless coaching, and the ever popular delayed onset of puberty just may not be as glamorous as it seems.
Stick It is a kick-ass, defy the rules, girl-power gymnastics movie. Haley (Missy Peregrym) is a bit of a rebel and gets in trouble with the cops…again. This time, the judge sentences her to attend a word-class gymnastics academy to pay off her debt to society. The trouble is, the previous year she walked away during a world championship meet and made her team loose. Now, no one at the gymnastics academy wants anything to do with her. The coach (Jeff Bridges) forces her to face her demons and train seriously so that she can actually help her team win. Her naïve and sheltered teammates discover that Haley can help them learn about the world and they inspire Haley to once again become a world-class gymnast. They all eventually ban together to take a stand against the unfair judges and ultimately control the outcome of this year’s tournament.
Missy Peregrym will be star; Jeff Bridges probably never should have been . . . the premise and story of Stick It are fairly creative and interesting, and the editorial on the impact and fairness of the sport is poignant - though maybe not relevant to most people. The dialogue is a little simplistic and trite in places, the cinematography weird and unsettling at times, and it could use more over-the-top gymnastics. Nonetheless, it's a good "girl power" movie that should be well received by the female teens; however, it probably won't have as wide an appeal as Bring It On.
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