DVD review: "Bring It On: Fight to the Finish:

The Movie

Lina (Christina Milian) is a tough chica and captain of the enthusiastic East L.A. cheerleading squad.  Big trouble comes her way when her mom marries a rich, white guy and she's ripped from her home, her friends and her crew only to be transplanted to the wealthy neighborhood of Malibu.  It doesn't take long for her to run afoul of Avery and the Malibu Jaguars, ultra-snobs and last year's cheer champions.  Before you can snap yo' fingaz and say "no you didn't," the static starts and Lina is about to get all up in it.

Lina's nerdy sister-in-law recruits her and her amigas to help out the high school's failing and flailing cheer team, and the race is on to see whether the street smart trio can inject a little funk and Latin flava into a bunch of uncoordinated preppies.

The fish out of water story has been done a million times and so has the one about the little guy beating the odds.  Anyone familiar with these universal themes, or has seen an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will recognize what is going on in Bring It On: Fight to the Finish.  It's totally predictable and filled with cliches.  Heck, they even rip off Rocky with the old "let's keep it raw and real by training in a beaten down gym in the hood" routine.  Nevertheless, as unoriginal as this movie was, I actually kind of enjoyed it.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not endorsing cheerleading movies at all and I was overcome with a ton of dread as I slid the DVD into the player.  It's just that these types of movies are fairly critic-proof.  Bring It On isn't a series meant to be enjoyed by 38-year-old men.  It's a series for teens and anyone interested in cheerleading.  There's a lot of girl-power and girl-drama on display, which is nothing I can relate to.  I try to keep that in mind while checking out these types of flicks and I try to go into them with an open mind.

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish comes with the requisite lessons on race, class stratification, economic status, culture clash and acceptance.  Sure, it's preachy, but any effort to break down stereotypes and bring people together is a good thing.  The movie also comes with impeccably choreographed dance sequences and a funky fresh soundtrack full of hip-hop, reggaeton and dance grooves.

So if your teen rents this, don't roll your eyes in disdain.  Bring It On: Fight to the Finish is pretty clean, inoffensive and comes with a fair amount of light moralizing.  You might want to diss this flick, but check yo self.  You might just find yourself enjoying it.

3 out of 5

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish

Rated PG-13

The DVD

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which nicely fills in a wide-screen display.  The 5.1 soundtrack also pumps the movie's energetic soundtrack.  Luckily, anyone serious about their cheerleading will also enjoy the DVD's bonus features.

In addition to nearly 15 minutes of deleted scenes, there is "Practice Round," a short look at the cheerleading camp attended by the actors.  "Backstage Pass" is a longer (11:30) behind-the-scenes look at the film, featuring interviews by the actors and production team.  "On Set With Christina Milian" is a series of video diaries shot by the film's star.  The short vignettes feature her and her co-stars hanging out between scenes.  Lastly, there is an episode of "The Chica Project."  I'm not familiar with the show, but it's hosted by two ladies who head to Texas to take up cheerleading.  The tie-in to the movie is obvious.

Bonus Features rating

4.5 out of 5