Can Jeff Bridges help a gymnastics prodigy regain her confidence and compete in a national championship? This week, a look back at a Touchstone Pictures gem, Stick It.
Logline
Haley is a former gymnast who walked out on a championship and left her team high and dry. Now two years later, Haley has been arrested for vandalism, and faces a choice between military school and gymnastics school. Choosing the military school, Haley is surprised to learn that she doesn’t have a choice and is sent to Burt Vickerman’s elite gymnastics school.
Vickerman, a former trampolinist, spends his days training future Olympian hopefuls, at least that’s what he tells the parents of his students. Clashing with Haley, Vickerman follows her wishes, and after some time training, Haley proves that she still has the talent that she once possessed. Vickerman wins over his unwilling student.
Though she has antagonized some of the girls in the school, Haley makes friends. At the regional championships, Haley realizes that the judging system isn’t fair, and conspires with her fellow athletes to decide who should win based on talent, and not some arbitrary judge’s score.
Coming to terms with why she walked out on her team before, Haley finds a home at the gymnastics school, and a true mentor from Burt Vickerman.
High Praise
Stick It is a teen movie, with the typical rebellious storyline of a teen who quit what she is good at only to be forced to confront what she liked, and to move past the reason why she quit. I loved every single minute of this movie and that is because of the lead actor, Missy Peregrym.
Missy Peregrym plays the typical rebellious teen, but she makes Haley so likeable. It can be easy to detest the lead character, but from the first moment to last, Missy Peregrym makes Haley the best of this well used storyline. From humor to humanity, I felt for Haley, and while she was a pain to everyone who cared for her, it was her relationship with Jeff Bridges’ Burt Vickerman that makes this film work so well.
Bridges being the coach is a bit of a surprise, but what is done differently with the Vickerman character is that he may be a tough coach, he’s not a jerk. In fact, he seems quite likable. The charm of Jeff Bridges goes a long way, and while never for a minute would I think Jeff Bridges could do a flip on the trampoline, he does make us believe that Burt Vickerman could have.
The teen angst story (surprise, a lot of the angst comes from her cheating mom) has been done countless times on screen, and many times done poorly. Stick It is not only that rare exception to the model, but it’s a great sports movie, and will educate viewers into the intensity that gymnastics is.
What Were They Thinking?
The plot is predictable and easy to guess. If you are a viewer who dislikes when you can guess what will happen next, then perhaps take a pass on Stick It.
Backlot Knowledge
- This is the feature film debut of Kellan Lutz.
- 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Nastia Liukin has a cameo in the film.
- Missy Peregrym and Kellan Lutz would share the screen again on television’s F.B.I.
- If you look at the crowd in the final meet, it’s easy to tell that plastic dummies were used to fill in the missing spots in the crowd.
- The tagline for the film was ‘Defy and Conquer’.
- On its opening weekend, the film grossed over $10 million dollars.
Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Overexposed-Desperate for Something to Watch, Clapper-A Perfect Film For Any Device, Magic Hour– You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Award Worthy– This Film is Cinema.}
Stick It gets the Clapper award. This is the perfect film for any device, and I’m sure you will like it. Gymnastics doesn’t get much representation in film, and Stick It not only is a fun story, but represents the sport well.
Best Quotable Line: “It’s not called gym-nice-tics”
Call Sheet
- Missy Peregrym as Haley
- Jeff Bridges as Burt Vickerman
- Vanessa Lengies as Joanne
- Nikki SooHoo as Wei Wei
- Kellan Lutz as Frank
Productions Team:
Directed by Jessica Bendinger
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Spyglass Entertainment / Kaltenbach Entertainment
Written by Jessica Bendinger
Release Date: April 28, 2006
Budget: $20 million
Domestic Box Office Gross: $26,910,736
Worldwide Box Office Total: $31,976,848
Coming Attractions
Next week, a look back at the animated modern-day reimagining of Shakespeare’s doomed couple, Gnomeo & Juliet.