The 25-Year-Old Cheerleading Drama That Still Smells Like Regret and Neon Spandex
Sage Matthews: Look, if you were hoping for a heartwarming nostalgia trip about a beloved teen comedy, you came to the wrong corner of the internet. I’m Sage Matthews, your resident cynic with a subscription to every failed studio memo and discarded screenplay since 1998, and let me tell you—this “feel-good cheer movie” has more skeletons than a Hollywood gym. Of course it does. Everything’s falling apart, remember?
If you’ve been living under a glitter-coated rock, Bring It On turns 25 this year, which means it’s old enough to realize that its entire premise was built on stolen choreography and racial optics. And yet, here we are, celebrating it like it’s some kind of cinematic triumph instead of a neon-soaked warning label about how Hollywood handles diversity.
The film, starring Kirsten Dunst as Torrance and Gabrielle Union as Isis, was supposed to be called Cheer Fever, which sounds less like a movie and more like a CDC alert. The script, written by Jessica Bendinger, nearly didn’t get made at all. She pitched it to over two dozen studios before someone finally said, “Sure, why not? Let’s make a movie where white girls profit off Black culture and call it a rivalry.”
Kirsten Dunst wasn’t even the first choice for Torrance. Marley Shelton had the role but dropped out to do Sugar and Spice, a cheerleader bank heist movie that somehow never got the same cultural afterlife. Meanwhile, Gabrielle Union took the part specifically because the other cheer movie wouldn’t cast Black leads. Oh, the irony.
Union’s character, Isis, was inspired by Michael Jordan. Not just in attitude, but in swagger. And director Peyton Reed admitted she helped shape the role into something more than just a “mean girl of color.” Shocking, right? A Black woman having to fight for her character to have depth in a teen comedy. What a world.
Dunst, who was 17 at the time, only signed on after turning it down multiple times and surviving what she called a “depressing, bad indie film.” So naturally, she ended up in one of the most iconic teen roles of the early 2000s. Go figure.
And now, 25 years later, there’s talk of a sequel. Gabrielle Union says they’ve been developing it “forever,” which in Hollywood terms could mean anything from next week to post-apocalyptic reboot. She even teased on social media that Isis might have a teenager now. Because nothing says “timeless storytelling” like aging your characters via hashtag.
In case you missed it, the original movie spawned six sequels—all direct-to-video or TV specials—because apparently, once you start making cash off high school rivalries, there’s no stopping. And yes, people still show up to screenings at cemeteries to scream lines like “It’s the poo!” while wearing homemade spirit sticks. Bless their souls.
So, yeah. Celebrate the legacy if you want. But don’t act surprised when the next sequel drops and suddenly everyone’s woke, diverse, and still somehow profiting off the same tired tropes. We see you, Hollywood. We always do.
Anyway, can’t wait to see how this gets worse.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, MTV News, Variety, Buzzfeed
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