Bring It On: The Championship Collection [3 Discs] [DVD]

Bring It On
The hard work, dedication, and personal politics behind "rah rah rah!" and "sis boom bah!" go under the microscope in this engaging teen comedy. Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) discovers that being captain of her San Diego high school's six-time championship-winning cheerleading squad is more complicated than she had imagined. Torrance's parents want her to spend more time on her homework, her boyfriend wants her to spend more time with him, and she learns that the squad's former captain stole some of their best routines from other teams -- and that Isis (Gabrielle Union), captain of a top squad at a crosstown, inner-city high school, plans to fight back this year. To make things worse, when one of the cheerleaders is injured, Torrance is forced to replace her with Missy (Eliza Dushku), a cynical new kid who is involved only because the school doesn't offer gymnastics. In the midst of this chaos, with the national championship around the corner, Torrance couldn't have picked a worse time to fall in love with Cliff (Jesse Bradford), a classmate who cares a lot more about punk rock than school spirit. Dunst trained with a cheerleading squad for her role, though a double performed the more complicated stunts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Bring It On Again
Whittier (Anne Judson-Yager) arrives at the fictional California State College hoping to join the national champion varsity cheerleading team. She meets up with her friend from cheerleading camp, Monica (Faune Chambers), and they're both impressive at the tryouts. Head cheerleader Tina (Bree Turner) is ready to ask them to join the team, but Dean Sebastian (Kevin Cooney) goes a step further, telling Tina that Whittier will be the next head cheerleader. This angers Tina's pal Marni (Joie Lenz), who had the position staked out, but Tina goes along with the plan, taking Whittier under her wing. Whittier meets Derek (Richard Lee Jackson), a campus deejay who immediately takes a shine to her. But Tina is very demanding and controlling. She warns Whittier that Derek is not the type of boy she should be dating. Monica is bothered by Tina's meddling, but Whittier momentarily lets her cheerleading ambition get the better of her, and breaks it off with Derek. Then Tina, upset with Monica's sassy attitude, forces Whittier to choose between her friendship and the squad. Whittier and Monica get fed up and quit the team, but Whittier's school spirit cannot be suppressed. With Monica's help, she gathers up the outcasts from the drama club, the dance club, and other groups that have lost their funding and forms a ragtag squad of her own, determined to battle the varsity squad for a spot at the national championship. Directed by Damon Santostefano (Three to Tango), Bring It On Again was released straight-to-video; aside from its subject matter, it has no direct connection to the original Bring It On. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Bring It On: All or Nothing
The second direct-to-video sequel of the hit teen cheerleading film Bring It On, Bring It On: All or Nothing concerns one Britney Allen, who must make new friends when her rich family moves into less desirable environs. She attempts to make the cheerleading squad of her new school, but butts heads with the popular, manipulative girl who is the captain of the troupe. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Bring It On: In It to Win It
This fourth film in the Bring It On series finds high school senior and captain of the West High Sharks cheerleading squad Carson leading her team to victory at the Cheer Camp Nationals. The Sharks are in for some tough competition, however, when a snooty New York team called the East High Jets sets its sites on the coveted Spirit Stick as well, led by their captain, Brooke. Tempers flare as competition between the two teams grows fiercer, eventually leading to an over-the-top one-on-one cheer-off that ends in a full-on confrontation. Now these two rival teams have to overcome their differences so that they both don't lose their shot at achieving their dreams. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
An East Los Angeles high school cheer squad captain finds her hopes of winning the upcoming Spirit Championships dashed when her mother remarries and their family relocates to Malibu, where the current cheer squad isn't quite up to snuff. With their fiery fusion of Latin and hip-hop moves, Lina Cruz (Christina Milian) and her best friends Gloria (Vanessa Born) and Treyvonetta (Gabrielle Dennis) are about to lead the East L.A. high school cheer squad to victory at one of the most prominent competitions in the nation. But just as the crew is about to take the world by storm, Lina's mother remarries and the family makes the move to Florida. Once there, Lina quickly realizes that the Malibu Vista High Sea Lions aren't anywhere near as talented as her old cheer squad. Now, in order to transform the Sea Lions into a championship team, Lina must teach them the moves needed to knock the award-winning Jaguar cheer squad and their trash-talking captain Avery (Rachele Brooke Smith) out of the top spot. When Lina and Avery's brother Evan (Cody Longo) becomes romantically involved, the competition between the two girls really begins to heat up. With the stakes higher than ever before, Lina hatches a scheme to take her team all the way to the top and prove that they have what it takes to become true champions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi