DVD Review - Bring It On: Collector's Edition

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Site created 12/15/97.

review added: 2/14/01

Bring It On
Collector's Edition - 2000 (2001) - Universal

review by Todd Doogan of The Digital Bits

Enhanced for 16x9 TVs

Film Rating: B-

Disc Ratings (Video/Audio/Extras): A/A+/A

Specs and Features

99 mins, PG-13, letterboxed widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 enhanced, single-sided, RSDL dual-layered (layer switch 41:03, in chapter 9), Amaray keep case packaging, Spotlight On Location: The Making of Bring It On featurette, audio commentary by director Peyton Reed, 11 deleted scenes (with introduction by Peyton Reed), 3 extended scenes with (introduction by Reed), home movie of "Car Wash" scene (with introduction by Reed), wardrobe and make-up tests for Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku, Did You Know That? trivia pop-up option, As If music video by Blaque, production notes, cast and crew biographies, DVD-ROM features (including interactive games, screen savers, wallpapers and more), DVD newsletter info, theatrical trailers (for Bring It On, October Sky, Reality Bites and The Skulls), film-themed menu screens with sound, scene access (20 chapters), languages: English (DD and DTS 5.1) and French (DD 5.1), subtitles: English

Gimme a "D"! Gimme a "V"! Gimme a "D"! What does it spell? No... seriously. I have no idea how to spell. Is that DVD? Good. I recently had the chance to see this Bring It On flick, and I have to say that I was happily surprised to find a halfway decent movie that actually managed to entertain me. All the acting is great, the story is fun and director Peyton Reed has the pacing of a master. I see big things for this guy.

Bring It On is a pretty simple story. The ever-adorable Kirsten Dunst plays Torrance Shipman. She's entering her senior year of high school in San Diego, and has just been voted captain of the championship cheerleading squad. She's a walking bubble to be sure, but she's a bubble with a hunger. She wants to lead her squad to another year of victory. So she pushes the team and ends up losing one of the cheerleaders, who has to be replaced. Enter Eliza Dushku (reeeoar) as new girl Missy, who wants to be a gymnast. But since the school doesn't have a program, she settles for cheerleader. Now... when I say cheerleader, I'm not talking your typical rah, rah type of cheerleader. These guys and girls flip, fly, jump, spin, rotate and land on their toes. These are some of the most talented athletes this side of professional wrestling. Anyway, Missy joins the team and starts having deja vu. All of these cheers - she's seen them before. Then it hits her: East Compton. She's originally from L.A., and her old high school would play the East Compton Clovers. All of the cheers that the San Diego Toro's are doing are exact replicas. It would seem that Missy's predecessor stole all of the Clovers routines, and used them to win championship after championship. When Torrance learns this, it breaks her heart. And when she learns that the Clovers are also entering the championship for the first time, she realizes she has to come up with a new routine and quick. Can Torrance save the day? Will she pick a college to get into that doesn't have a championship cheerleading program? And why is she attracted to "bad boy" Cliff, who just happens to be Missy's twin brother? All these questions have an answer somewhere on this DVD.

Like I said above, I really liked Bring It On. Sure, it's sappy, brainless and light, but it's funny. And that's what counts. More than that, it's also a serious story. It's not a parody of cheerleading films, like one might expect. Instead, it's a movie every high school student can see... and maybe see themselves in somehow. Everybody's here: stuck up kids, levelheaded kids, fat kids, thin kids and sexy ladies (Eliza Dushku, reeoar). The film's not going to win any awards, or even find a cure for cancer. But as a brain cell killer, it's a good film to see.

This DVD from Universal presents the film in anamorphic widescreen and represents the film well. Color is bright, skin tones are nice and the dark scenes are free of artifacts. There's not much fault to be found here - this is another solid transfer from our friends at Universal. The sound is even better, with a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a booming DTS 5.1 track. The DTS track is obviously more full sounding, but the Dolby Digital does just fine on its own. There's also a French 5.1 track for our Canadian friends in Region 1.

The extras on board shine pretty brightly. Director Peyton Reed is all over this thing. First, he treats us to a hilarious commentary track, where he discusses the trials and tribulations of shooting a teen film that's both aimed at teams and stars teens. This must have been a fun shoot, and Reed definitely makes the most of it on the commentary. There's also a fluffy Spotlight On Location featurette, with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Then you get some 11 deleted scenes. Each scene is introduced by Reed, and he explains why each was cut (most of them for pacing) and what he liked about them. You'll also see 3 extended scenes, also with introductions by Reed. The best of these is an extended dolly shot of the locker room scene at the beginning of the film. For the pervs in our readership, we get a home movie of the now-famous "Car Wash" scene, again with introduction (the introduction is what makes it work). Rounding out the video supplements on the disc are wardrobe and make-up tests, with stars Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku dancing around and having fun, as well as the music video for Blaque's As If.

A brand new feature on Universal DVDs is a sort of VH1's Pop-Up Video thingy. If you select the Did You Know That? option on the disc, you can watch the film utilizing stylized subtitles that give little bits of trivia about cheerleading and the production. It's sort of annoying and I only made it about 30 minutes before I turned it off, but fans of the sport (and fans of the film) might find it fun. Other typical extras (like theatrical trailers, production notes, cast and crew biographies, DVD-ROM screen savers and DVD newsletter information) are also here for your perusal.

Bring It On is a fun little film. It's entertaining, silly and well made. The same exact thing can be said about this disc. This is a great special edition for a film that deserves to be enjoyed on DVD. So let's give Universal a huge cheer and let 'em know we love them. Ready? Let's go! Universal, Universal, Rah! Rah! Rah! Universal, Universal, sis-boom-bah! Yeeeeeeeah Universal! Okay... I'm tired. I'm gonna go lay down now.

Todd Doogan
todddoogan@thedigitalbits.com