Stick It (2006)

After a run-in with the law, Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is forced to return to the world from which she fled some years ago. Enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by the legendary Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), Haley's rebellious attitude gives way to something that just might be called team spirit.

Director:

Jessica Bendinger

Writer:

Jessica Bendinger

Stars:

Missy Peregrym, Jeff Bridges, Vanessa Lengies

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Burt Vickerman
Missy Peregrym	...	Haley Graham
Vanessa Lengies	...	Joanne Charis
Nikki SooHoo	...	Wei Wei Yong
Maddy Curley	...	Mina Hoyt
Kellan Lutz	...	Frank
John Patrick Amedori	...	Poot
Mio Dzakula	...	Ivan
Svetlana Efremova	...	Dorrie
Jon Gries	...	Brice Graham
Gia Carides	...	Alice Graham
Tarah Paige	...	Tricia Skilken
Polly Holliday	...	Judge Westreich
Julie Warner	...	Mrs. Charis
Annie Corley	...	Officer Ferguson

Storyline

Haley Graham is a former gymnast-turned-juvenile delinquent who, after one too many run-ins with the law, is forced to enroll at an elite gymnastics academy, the VGA in Houston, Texas which is run by the legendary Olympic gymnast Burt Vickerman. But the rebellious Haley is not welcomed into the academy by the other teenage gymnasts who despise her for walking out on her Junior Olympic team years earlier during a competition which cost them the gold medal. But Haley is not a docile person either and makes every effort to provoke conflicts with the other girls. Vickerman takes it upon himself to coach Haley in his own way to make her regain her self respect for the VGA's coming spot on the Gymnastic Nationals.

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Plot Keywords:

deception | gymnastics | gymnast | texas | houston texas | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes, the best way to get in the game is to throw out the rules.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some crude remarks

Details

Official Sites:

Disney [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pisando firme

Filming Locations:

Fairfield, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,803,610, 30 April 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$26,870,825, 23 July 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kaltenbach Pictures,Spyglass Entertainment,Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the gymnasts asks "Who died and named you Nadia?" This is a reference to gymnast Nadia Comaneci who later appears as herself in the film.

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Goofs

Towards the end of the movie, the judges question the gymnasts regarding who will be competing. As this scene's beginning, Tim's voiceover says, "After what happened to Nastia Liukin and Wei Wei Yong yesterday and Mina Hoyt today, it's safe to say the athletes are sending the judges a message." The competition was a two day competition, with the first day being the all around and the second day being the event finals. The rebellion only occurred on the second day. Also, Wei Wei hadn't done a routine yet (beam followed this scene) and the order of the event finals was Vault (Mina), Bars (Nastia), this continuity error, then Beam followed by Floor.

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Quotes

Dorrie: [Chanting as the girls practice on beam] Pointy feet, pointy feet. Point them hard and win the meet.

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Connections

Featured in Missy Elliott: We Run This (2006)

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Soundtracks

Crowded
Written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen (as Mikkel Eriksen), Tor Erik Hermansen (as Tor Erik Hermansen), Jeannie Ortega,
Papoose (as Willie Mackie)
Performed by Jeannie Ortega featuring Papoose
Courtesy of Hollywood Records

User Reviews

It's my favorite guilty pleasure from 2006

Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is a rebellious teen forced to attend a tough gymnastics academy after driving a motorcycle through a window. There, she gets into it with the tough coach (Jeff Bridges) and other girls, but they all have to work together if they want to win a gymnastic championship.

Stick It is a delightful comedy that features memorable dialog and fun performances. The film itself is pretty standard but it was still a lot of fun to watch. I think the screenplay played a big part in the entertainment factor. There were many great lines and scenes which was surprising since the trailer was kind of lame. However, I went in expecting a cheesy comedy and I had a good time. It was pretty corny yet director and screenwriter Jessica Bendinger had a good balance of the cheesiness so that it never became too much to bear.

There were a couple of things I didn't like about the film though. The second half was a bit more serious and therefore not as funny. As in most comedies, there's always a serious shift and it was just awkward when it happened. This had more to do with the performers rather than the director. Another thing, the message of the film was kind of stupid. I know, this is a harmless comedy and it shouldn't be taken seriously yet it was kind of lame to have all the contestants scratch because they weren't getting their way. It could have been a good idea because contestants do seem to get mad at the judges all the time but I didn't like the way they carried it out here.

The acting was pretty good with Missy Peregrym giving the best performance. Her line delivery was perfect and she had many charming scenes. Hopefully, there will be more of her in the future. Jeff Bridges was decent although he could have done this role in his sleep. Vanessa Lengies was good as a supporting player even though her character was pretty annoying. The rest of the performances were passable except for both Nikki SooHoo and Maddy Curly. They were just too wooden and just appeared awkward throughout the movie. Overall, Stick It was purely a guilty pleasure for me. It's no masterpiece but I did have fun while I was watching it. Rating 7/10