It's hard to believe that any movie industry professionals were actually associated with straight-to-video production "Bring It On Again" (2004). Although a sequel, it is more like a really painful blend of "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Cadet Kelly".
Despite the warnings I actually watched my soon to be re-gifted DVD. Anne Judson-Yager (who looks like Reese Witherspoon plus 30 pounds) plays new college freshman and aspiring cheerleader Whittier Smith. She and her friend Monica (Faune A. Chambers) pass the audition and come under the scrutiny of sadistic head cheerleader Tina Hammersmith (Bree Turner). They soon tire of life under Tina and form a rival cheerleading squad of fine arts students and campus radicals. Despite a host of available movie stereotypes the screenwriter can't seem to figure out how to portray this crowd and you actually feel embarrassed for the actors who must deal with these portions of her script. Production design, style, and unity are apparently unknown elements to director Damon Santostefano (unsuccessfully seeking work since making this movie) and the whole thing seems randomly thrown together. It must have been an assembly nightmare for the editor, who may or may not share some of the blame- it's hard to tell.
I'm at somewhat of a loss as to the target demographic for "Bring It On Again". These things tend to be pitched to producers for their sexploitation potential. And in this case they could at least count on a pre-sold sexploitation audience of original "Bring It On" fans. But the only tie with the original is the subject of cheerleading and those looking for sexploitation elements will be disappointed.
My guess is that the target audience is actually preteen girls. The script is certainly on that age and sophistication level. The male members of the cast appear to have been selected for their looks (certainly not their acting skills) while the female members are a dreary looking bunch (although their limited acting skills are well-matched with those of the male cast). When your leading lady looks like Judson-Yager and your only really pretty actress is cast as the cheer squad's towel girl; alarm bells should start sounding for those outside this target demographic. I bet the producers wish that they had heard those bells and monitored this project a little closer.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Despite the warnings I actually watched my soon to be re-gifted DVD. Anne Judson-Yager (who looks like Reese Witherspoon plus 30 pounds) plays new college freshman and aspiring cheerleader Whittier Smith. She and her friend Monica (Faune A. Chambers) pass the audition and come under the scrutiny of sadistic head cheerleader Tina Hammersmith (Bree Turner). They soon tire of life under Tina and form a rival cheerleading squad of fine arts students and campus radicals. Despite a host of available movie stereotypes the screenwriter can't seem to figure out how to portray this crowd and you actually feel embarrassed for the actors who must deal with these portions of her script. Production design, style, and unity are apparently unknown elements to director Damon Santostefano (unsuccessfully seeking work since making this movie) and the whole thing seems randomly thrown together. It must have been an assembly nightmare for the editor, who may or may not share some of the blame- it's hard to tell.
I'm at somewhat of a loss as to the target demographic for "Bring It On Again". These things tend to be pitched to producers for their sexploitation potential. And in this case they could at least count on a pre-sold sexploitation audience of original "Bring It On" fans. But the only tie with the original is the subject of cheerleading and those looking for sexploitation elements will be disappointed.
My guess is that the target audience is actually preteen girls. The script is certainly on that age and sophistication level. The male members of the cast appear to have been selected for their looks (certainly not their acting skills) while the female members are a dreary looking bunch (although their limited acting skills are well-matched with those of the male cast). When your leading lady looks like Judson-Yager and your only really pretty actress is cast as the cheer squad's towel girl; alarm bells should start sounding for those outside this target demographic. I bet the producers wish that they had heard those bells and monitored this project a little closer.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.