Cheerleading movies are the most underrated film genre of all time, that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.
Honestly, the Oscars need a cheerleading category because these films are superior to all others. Drama? Pfft. Comedy? If there’s no pom poms, get it the fuck out of my face.
The beloved Bring It On films deserve to be in a fucking museum. The 2000 classic and its string of straight-to-video sequels do not get the attention and respect they deserve.
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But not all of the Bring It On films were created equal. Sometimes we get cinematic masterpieces like Bring It On: All Or Nothing, and other times we are left to scrape the shit that is Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack off the bottom of our shoe.
So naturally, I felt compelled to watch them all and rank based on how much they make me wish I was a high school cheerleader.
6. Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack
Did you know there was a Bring It On film released in 2017? I didn’t, and I fucking refuse to watch it. Any movie with a hashtag in the title simply isn’t worth my time, and it’s not worth yours either. Like I said, I refuse to actually watch this film so I can’t give much feedback on it, but it has an abysmal 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes which really says it all.
“The acting is bad, the cheerleading acrobatics take a backseat to online insults, and the characters are so cardboard you could knock them over with a little finger or hearty belch,” James Plath of Family Home Theatre said.
I don’t understand why anyone would feel compelled to watch this movie. Please do not watch this movie.
5. Bring It On: Fight To The Finish
Unlike the rest of the franchise, Fight To The Finish is over-appreciated. I forced myself to sit through this 1hr and 43 minute flaming pile of garbage for research purposes and could barely get through it. Cringe, cringe, cringe, cringe, fucking CRINGE.
Christina Milian moves to a new school and somehow turns the terrible cheerleading team into all-stars in a matter of what? A few weeks? A month, tops. This film is an insult to cheerleaders.
I can’t even pinpoint the worst part of this film. Is it the weird sexual tension between the rival cheerleader and her own brother? The lack of actual cheerleading? Or maybe the fact that they’re fighting for a fucking tacky charm bracelet?
Not even Christina Milian could save this movie.
4. Bring It On: Again
The first straight-to-video sequel to the OG Bring It On was the only film to share the same producers as the original, but even that couldn’t save it. Basically, a blonde, slightly Kirsten Dunst-esque cheerleader quits her dream college cheer squad to form her own team because she’s not a fan of how the captain runs things.
She forms a squad out of drama kids, ballet dancers and basically anyone else she can wrangle up, and somehow turns them all into star cheerleaders.
The cheerleading is great, the soundtrack is solid, but the storyline is sub-par at best. Cheerleading is an elite sport that takes more than a couple of weeks of training to nail.
But hey, Bring It On: Again had to walk so that Bring It On: All or Nothing could run. I just don’t understand why anybody would watch this film when there are three superior Bring It On movies for your viewing pleasure.
3. Bring It On: In It To Win It
Ahh, the West Side Story of the cheerleading world. Bring It On: In It To Win It is the turning point in this list, because it fucking slaps.
For the fourth instalment in a straight-to-video film franchise, the casting is impressive with Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars) and Jennifer Tisdale (the other Tisdale sister). You’re a fucking liar if this film didn’t make you want to go to cheerleading camp at Camp Spirit Thunder.
Honestly, with music from Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ Michalka and Ashley Tisdale, it’s honestly surprising this film isn’t a Disney Channel Original Movie.
The 70% Rotten Tomatoes score doesn’t lie, this film rightfully deserves a spot in the top half of the list.
2. Bring It On
The OG Bring It On comes in at a very close second. Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union are top tier cheerleaders, it kicked off the greatest straight-to-video film franchises of all time, and it’s just an absolute classic. What’s not to love?
This film is a work of art, and it has given us some of the most memorable quotes of all time.
“I’m wanted, I’m hot! I’m everything you’re not! I’m pretty, I’m cool! I dominate this school!”
I’d be willing to bet Shakespeare is pretty bummed he didn’t think of that iconic line.
Kirsten Dunst was already a queen at this point, but she really won our hearts as Torrance Shipman.
1. Bring It On: All Or Nothing
I’m just gonna come right out and say it, Bring It On: All Or Nothing is the best cheerleading movie of all time. I am genuinely upset that Hayden Panettiere did not win an Oscar for her performance in this film. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but this movie is one of the few sequels that is better than the original.
It’s got Solange Knowles, it’s got Rihanna, and I’d be willing to bet you could still quote every word to this classic. The cast, the quotes, the unforgettable cheers, this movie really has it all.
Top tier, number one. There’s no disputing it.
