The Steves discuss the 2000 cult classic Bring It On, along with what they are binging on TV and what's making them happy.
Topics Discussed
Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.
The Steves discuss the 2000 cult classic Bring It On, along with what they are binging on TV and what's making them happy.
Topics Discussed
Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.
Hello. Hello, returning happies and new listeners. This is Steve Bennet-Martin,
Stephen:and this is Stephen Martin-Bennet. And welcome to a lifetime of happiness.
Steve:The podcast where we take you on our journey through some of the movies, TV shows, and other bits of pop culture that are helping keep us happy while hopefully bring a smile to your face along the way.
Stephen:And today we're going to whip out our spirit fingers and bring it
Steve:on. Yes. So grab onto your spirit. Stick and don't let go, because first I can't help it asking my love. What's been making you happy. So
Stephen:surprisingly enough. It's yard work. And I wouldn't normally say that. Well, you doing the yard work is also making me happy, but go more. Tell me more, tell me more. So I stopped your lawn and garden, and I got some new shrubs and things for the backyard. And I worked on planting them yesterday and I looked outside this morning and I was like, you know what? I really like how it looks out there. And so that in itself made me happy and, you know, I never been one to be like, Oh, getting in there and getting my hands dirty is just so rewarding. But nah, that's not
Steve:your type
Stephen:normally. No, but this time, you know what, I look out there and I'm like, eh, I like it
Steve:and I reap the benefits. So I like it too.
Stephen:What about you, darling? What's making you happy. I
Steve:had a very successful baseball open house event at work the other day that I put on with my team. And it was so much work, but it had such a great payoff just in terms of the sheer number of people that ended up coming throughout the day. We did it socially distant in smaller groups so that it wasn't a million people at once. But throughout an all day long baseball event, we ended up having 82 people toward the building.
Stephen:Well, that's fantastic. And I did stop by to see it in support you. And it was a great event. The food was fantastic. The building looks wonderful. And everybody seems so happy as they were leaving. So I was very impressed as well.
Steve:Yes. But the happiest part of it, all of us, I was able to take all the clips and highlights from it. And 200 into my very first video produced commercial and
Stephen:I watched it and I was like, wow, because it doesn't look. Like something that you produced at home?
Steve:Yes. And it was, so that was my very first video. I can't wait to explore videography a little bit more. I think I've got the audio graphy down, down, Pat, as our listeners, hopefully a great summary to get into video more and that's making me happy.
Stephen:Do y'all graphy. Yes. Is that really the word? Yeah. Oh, it just sounds so weird.
Steve:No, it sounds sexy and cool.
Stephen:Well, let's head on up over to our binge and purge section where we let our listeners know what they should do. B bingeing for entertainment value or purging from their lives.
Steve:Yes. And so with that, both of them actually are much less sexy. Yes, they are. The first one they're shameless, I just recently had a series finale after like 11 years, 11 years. I mean, we saw most of these kids. Grow up,
Stephen:literally they, yeah, like the Gallaghers became like family members because Liam and all of them started out as infants or small children. And now they're all adults and a couple of them have children of their own and it was really weird to see happen. And It was, you know, Fiona left the show two years ago. She was my favorite character on the show and it was nice that they still showed her in flashbacks in the series finale. So while she wasn't there because. In our minds, she's gone off to live a better ever yep. Happily ever
Steve:after. Yes. But you know, with that, it is a long time series to invest your time into. And, you know, like most shows that last, that long, there are some seasons that are binge worthy and some that are purge worthy. But overall, in terms of the final season of whether it's stuck the landing or not, I would say it's worth bingeing. If you're hoping for something that can stick the landing well enough. Yes.
Stephen:I think overall the show is absolutely a binge. And the series finale was satisfying for a long time
Steve:viewers. Yes, but for those gay people out there that ship and view Mickey and Anne as the ultimate relationship goals, please go therapy. You
Stephen:really need to re-examine that because they are not good to each other. They're not good to other people. Those are not relationship
goals.
Steve:Exactly. I saw that one of our geek groups and I was like, Oh no, you need to talk to my therapist over a TalkSpace, take care of you.
Stephen:Oh. And just, or we need more gay representation in mainstream media. Of different varieties and have healthy relationships and for the younger generation to see that, no, that is not okay. Exactly.
Steve:Yeah. But on to happier things while it's not sexy, it is sexy for some seniors because it is grace and
Stephen:Frankie. Yeah. Yeah. So we were two seasons behind on Grace and Frankie. Yes.
Steve:And then recently last, last week's episode of silence of the lambs, Melissa said that she's been binging it and loving it. And so we. Jumped back in and we are, we are glad we did. They picked up their writing quite a lot. It's very binge-worthy. It
Stephen:is absolutely binge-worthy. So that's another one that if you have been watching it, keep going, and if you've never watched it, start at the beginning, check it out. It's
Steve:a lot of fun. Yeah. It's well-written and I think that it's important to see women of that age, especially being portrayed as human beings that are complex and like have sexual drives and have relationships and are still navigating life and figuring it out even at their age. You know, that's what, you know, many of us spend our entire lives doing. So the adage of the old wise senior, who's just sitting in her chair all day, having everything all figured out, cause she's already lived her entire life. You know, that's not how it actually works in reality. And so I feel like these portrayals are really awesome to have
Stephen:out there. And you have such an all-star cast with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the stars and Sam Waterson and Martin sheen is costars and of the children. I mean June Diane Raphael, the plays Briana Jane Fonda's daughter. Yeah. Is just one of those people that she's not a good person. But she's not. So bad that you can't enjoy her character because she's just a vial, but she's funny vine.
Steve:Yes. And she's self-aware which, you know, I, I'm not vial by any stretch, but some of my faults, because I'm so self-aware of them. Sometimes I feel like I could play it off as cute. And so I feel like she's very much the same way where she's like, I'm bitchy, but it's nice. Leave me alone. I get things done. And
Stephen:Peter Gallagher is such a good addition to the cast. He's always really good.
Steve:Not age, pretty much since his role is, you know, the dad in the OSI, he has gray in his hair now more that's about it. That's about it. It's just wild. How some of these actors and actresses don't
Stephen:and another actor who Was bigger in the nineties and things, especially in sweet home, Alabama, Ethan Embry. I really love that he is getting featured on this as Lily Tomlin, Tomlinson coyote, and he's done a good job. He's done a really good job with it. It's a great show. Watch it. Ben did. It's fun, but. Instead of binge it, let's bring it and bring it on.
Steve:Yes. Let's bring it on because this is one of those movies that I can watch again and again and again, and I've loved it forever. You know, I just, why do you love the movie
Stephen:so much? So it came out and I didn't see it in the theater and I'll fully admit that the trailer for it. I was like, Nope, it's not for me. I don't really care to, and then. One of the times where I could tell that I was getting sick and in college, and as an adult, when I moved to Cincinnati, when I could tell I was getting sick, I would go to blockbuster and I would rent like five or six movies to get me through the. Sickness phase where I could get back up again and bring it on was one of those that I picked up at blockbuster and over the course of me being sick in bed with the flu I think I watched it three times before I returned it and it sticks with me because it's funny, it's heartfelt, it's endearing. And. It just, it, it ages very
Steve:well. It does certainly. I mean, this came out in 2000 and so it was right when I was in high school, I was just starting high school if I'm doing my math correctly. And so with that, it just, you know, it w was exactly what. Everyone wants their high school to be like, I wish that my school had team spirit like this. I don't know whether that was because we didn't have a football team. So there was not really much to cheer for, but we really didn't have cheerleaders other than like a small group of girls that did it for the basketball team. I think it was. But, you know, it w it wasn't. And even they, like when they cheered it, it felt sad. There was like a sad undertone to their cheers where there wasn't like the life for the pep that you want and the movies. So I wanted to go to this high school and I was like, I would have gone to their football games and I would've liked sports ball if I got to be able to watch like the
Stephen:cheers. So. It's so weird for you to talk about going to a high school that didn't have a football team, because I grew up in West Virginia where Friday night lights, like, and that whole thing that was like true to form. People went out, you supported the football team if other sports or things that the high school needed money, best of luck with your fundraising, because all the money's going to go to football and. Like our high school football stadium was severely impressive for rural West Virginia. And it's just because football brings in the money and that part. So like we had cheerleaders, they routed the football team and we had a pretty decent team. But yeah, it's. I, I just find it weird. You didn't have football.
Steve:Yeah. We had, like, my graduating class was like 90 kids. And so, I mean the talent pool wasn't really there, but also from what I understand, like, you know, years and years earlier a kid died playing the sport. Cause they hit that spot in your chest that will just instantly kill you. And it was like a freak accident and horrible thing. But because of it in memoriam of him, they just stopped having fun.
Stephen:So your town, it was kind of like, it was Footloose, but with football, that's exactly
Steve:what I would say. Exactly. So that's what the same times turned into after all of a sudden I'm done with that was, it was the, the, the town sheriff outlawed it. But, so I just loved watching this because it gave me that experience that I didn't get to have in my own house. Because this was like I mentioned came out in 2000. It's a American team, cheerleading comedy film, which is a very specific niece directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jessica bending her. What was interesting in this research was this was Ray Reed's debut film, but you pointed out we know him.
Stephen:Yes. We know Peyton Reed extraordinarily well. He is very, very talented. And if anybody follows the MCU movies and you've watched Paul Rudd's ant, man.
Steve:Oh, you mean only like the bajillion people? Yeah. I know him, if not from the ant man movies from like Avengers end game and things.
Stephen:Right. He didn't do the end game, but Ant man ant man, and the wasp and the next one that's coming. He is entirely responsible for it. He directed seasons of new girl. He did one of my favorite comedies from back in the day down with love with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor and one of Sarah Paulson's first roles. Oh wow.
Steve:And more recently he was also did some episodes of the Mandalorian and
Stephen:he did do some of the Mandalorian. So it's interesting that, you know, Bring it on is this big thing that got named started and now he's doing huge action
Steve:movies. Exactly certainly is wild, especially because, I mean, bring it on as a movie title that was strong enough to support a franchise, but the movie was originally called cheer fever.
Stephen:That sounds just about a scariest cabin.
Steve:I know. And I don't know why they ended up changing it. I'm glad that they did be though, because I mean like cheer fever sounds like it could be a horror movie of cheerleaders being murdered. Yeah. Yeah.
Stephen:And of course they have all that. Exactly. They have all the jokes now about bring it on. Oh, it's already been broughten. Yes. And there are probably eight. Bring it on films in the series now.
Steve:They're on football team
Stephen:and it, it's just a really funny film. It stars Kiersten danced as the lead Torrance. Who else does it have? Babe
Steve:Eliza Dushku as Missy, a better known to many people, especially myself as the first. And one of the very few female loves of my life. Faith Lehane from Buffy the vampire Slayer.
Stephen:Yeah. So has Jesse Bradford. And one of my favorite people in the entire world, Gabrielle union, as
Steve:the woman who does
Stephen:not age, she, it does not. And she, like, she would be one of those if I was one of her children and she gave me like the Gabrielle union, look, my room would be clean. Like she has such force with her eyes. Like she was perfect to run a cheerleading squad. Cause those girls would never. Step out of line
Steve:to her. I hear that. Yes. I hear she's a great mom to her daughter as well. She
Stephen:is Gabrielle union is A mom to transgender child, and she is a great ally to the LGBTQ community and always has been.
Steve:Yes. And there are a lot of memorable, small parts in here, but for those of you who like me geeked out about when they saw Eliza Dushku from her roll-on Buffy, you might also have recognized Claire. Kramer who played Courtney because she was glory on Buffy the season five villain, AK the best season of Buffy. And so with that, it, it, and yes, I, in the research, it was because Eliza do screw, did recommend the part for Claire to her saying like, Hey, I got a Buffy friend who would be awesome for that role as Courtney and, and like convinced her to try out for it. And it was. Perfect, but it was a Buffy connection.
Stephen:And Claire in this movie movie is probably one of the most memorable and strong of the supporting cast because she's the one that I'll remember of the supporting cast over all of them. And it's not just above anything. Her performance is just that good. Yes,
Steve:it certainly is. And one thing that I like is no matter how big or small your part on the cheer squad was, every one, every actor got to go to a cheerleading boot camp. That was I think, a couple of weeks long and it was designed and I learned the string, the DVD audio commentary. But it was designed because they didn't want to have to use doubles. There was only maybe a very few times in the movie where they use stunt doubles. The rest was all the actors that they just trained. To do it. That's
Stephen:impressive. And you know, I'm sure even poor Carver that gets taken out in the first part of the movie enjoyed going just for the bonding experience of it all. Yeah,
Steve:exactly. Cause you could tell the chemistry, you know, at the end when they did the Oh Micky, Ugh.
Stephen:Which will always be one of my all time. Favorite end credit sequences. Yes.
Steve:First short. Now this was released on August 25th of 2000 and earned$90.5 million on an$11 million budget. And
Stephen:I bet you over time between DVD sales, streaming rights and replay and, and rental sales and all that, it's made a lot more because this is a movie. I don't know anybody that doesn't like this
Steve:movie. Exactly. And this is one of those movies. That definitely is the definition of a cult classic. Yes. And so with that, I do find that out of making the movie on it's$11 million budget, the biggest expense was the rights to the song, cherry pie. In that cheerleading audition and they were$40,000 to have that stripper
Stephen:girl. Yeah. So the girl comes in to audition and she's wearing booty shorts and a tank top. And she comes in and starts with cherry pie and starts doing pretty much the song from the video and crawling across the table and everything. And it's a very memorable moment. And it's funny. I don't know if it's$40,000 funny, but. Good for them.
Steve:Yes, exactly. And in addition to creating a franchise of movies and sequels, it also had a stage version musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt.
Stephen:And I have never seen it. I've never actually listened to anything from it. But if it's got lens involvement and most people know him from Hamilton and in the Heights, and he's also involved in the new live action, little mermaid, which I'm very excited about. Yes.
Steve:So I want to see it, and I know that you're not really big on pirating things, but I was tempted to see if I can Google it because I mean, just, yeah. It must be so cool. And I want it back.
Stephen:Well, I bet you that there's probably YouTube clips that are totally fine, but to our listeners, pirating is never okay.
Steve:What is okay? Is Kirsten Dunst acting in this role? Because she's not always your favorite issue? He
Stephen:is not. Most of, most of the time, I don't feel like she is anybody other than herself in her performances. And. You know, and sometimes it doesn't feel like she wants to be there. Like I did not care for her as Mary Jane Matson Parker in the first three Spider-Man
Steve:movies. I mean, this was the first movie I saw with her. And so, because she was great in this, I loved her in this and for this, but I definitely don't think she did what she could have done with her acting career. If she maybe acted better, so, or made better
Stephen:choices. Well, she did this. Movie called melancholia. And it's a movie about the end of the earth, but not a disaster film in the way you would expect her performance in that is outstanding. So I know she's got it. And, and maybe it's just early in her career. The wrong choices for her, but in
Steve:this, I was 17 at the time here and she did fantastic. Especially at 17. I couldn't get my shit together to get through a day of high school. Normally let alone making a movie like this and doing that well. So I give her credit here. Yeah. I
Stephen:also liked the beauty queen movie. She just dropped it. She was very good in that. Yeah. So this and dropped dead gorgeous and melancholia. Good job Kiersten.
Steve:Exactly. But we get to meet her and the other members of the Rancho Carney Toros in this opening scene.
Stephen:I'm not. I just, you can look you up.
Steve:You're you're you're you're you're a long haul. Yeah.
Stephen:I don't have a rhyme ready for that. No, I, and that is such a great way to open it up because it immediately is funny. It's. Iconic, but it also lets the audience know you're going to have fun with this movie.
Steve:It does do a great way to be like in your face. Like the director said cheerleaders are. And so it was very much like starting off with a bang and having the entire movie be high energy the entire time, the way that cheerleaders are high energy the entire time. And I do think that it does it, but it also in its own little Disney kind of way, it also does a great job of setting up the characters and their personality types and what they want. So it's like their own little. Yes. And
Stephen:it ends with Torrance having a dream that she is naked in front of her entire school. And. Those are terrifying dreams. Like I used to have those where I would show up to indeed, you know, what's funny. I was never fully naked in the dreams. I would have a shirt on and no pants or underwear. And you were reading the poem. I was winning the pooing and I had a dream. Like I showed up. To school or we were at park and pool day and I was going up the ladder for the slide. And all of a sudden they realized I didn't have swim trunks on, but I was wearing a t-shirt. And so I was trying to pull the t-shirt down to cover myself. Yeah. I hated those
Steve:dreams. No. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know Not our listeners. You, but you as the love of my life. No, but I'm not very big on remembering my dreams, period. You know, during an entire month, I might be able to remember like one dream in the morning where I tell you, but I, I really don't remember any ones where I was like that, where I was like, Oh no, I'm stuck naked. And I'm so scared. Like if anything, like the scared turned really quickly into horny. So
Stephen:you'll have that, I guess. Yes.
Steve:You know, I guess it all depends on how you view being caught naked in public. And
Stephen:so they go to Rancho Carnegie high school. Yes.
Steve:Now I am not a Spanish grapher of language was one of the few classes that I was not an honors for in high school. So can you translate that for me? That's meat ranch. So they go to meet ranch high school.
Stephen:It is what will that mean? That's like places in Florida. Boca Grande day big now, big mouth and Punto Gorda, big point. Like, so that one makes sense, but like Boca Grande's, I'm just like, that's a bad name and Rancho Carney. That's awful. I
Steve:know it's very cleverly written for it because I think, you know, that the directors and writers said like that was to make fun of all of those, like ones like that in California is the same way with the silly towns with Spanish names. But like they never make sense together. Yes. Now Torrin's starts off in this one. All it is in some parts of romcom laid around with her romance with a cliff. Yeah, it does start off with her already dating a guy who was designed to be your stereotypical cheerleader. Whereas, you know, is he gay? Is he straight? Is he a serial killer? Who's going to peel off, you know, your, her face and just wear it like, you know, you would expect Buffalo bill to do well.
Stephen:And from the beginning you can already tell. She can do better and deserves better than Aaron. He is not a good
Steve:boyfriend. Yes. Because as much as we love it in high school, when our parents say that guy is trouble, or that guy is bad news, or we hate him, let you know. And that makes us just want them more nine out of 10 times. That's like pretty much a good judge of character with that kind
Stephen:of stuff that your parents are able to see what you're not able to see. Her parents saw what was true about Aaron from the get-go he's a, not a good person. He
Steve:is not, but you know, while he doesn't end up being gay, he certainly used her as like a beard of sorts for the hometown.
Stephen:Yes. And do you have any stories along those lines during
Steve:I was going to say because Eliza Dushku, funny story delayed coming out by a couple of years because I was so attracted to hurt, confused me. I ended up continuing to date girls in high school, even though I knew I was also fully attracted to boys as well. So I was just telling people I was bisexual. I was not, I was gay, but with that I dated the Quaker. And so that was a safe bet because she was Quaker. So she wasn't expecting me to put out. So it worked out really well until she made me watch all three Laura, the rings movies. And that made me say no more. Women. Yeah. I have one that would make me do all three in a day of all talking throughout all three, about what I need to know about all three that I wouldn't see from watching the three hour movies each that I would only know from watching the stuff from the nine hour commentary. Oh my God. I just, I mean,
Stephen:that just sounds awful. Like I have seen all the Lord of the rings movies. I did not hate them. I thought they were enjoyable. I don't love them the way some people do. But I, I mean, I don't know if there's any movie series that I would ever make you sit through all of them in one day. That you didn't want to do
Steve:exactly. I remember the day that we had the full day long movie marathon with your entire family, for the X-Men movies in the apartment,
Stephen:you mean the day everyone almost died?
Steve:Yes, exactly. So it was like, sometimes it's also how we're going to be watching them because the movies are great. But anyway you know, She does a tour it's really does start off as that kind of bready and secure cheerleader. Then I feel like she grows through her experience of realizing that, you know, the, the cheers are stolen, which we'll get more into. And you know, her friendship with Missy and the, you know, the, the kind of relationship with
Stephen:ISIS. But one of the things in the beginning, her mother isn't really impressed that she's captain the cheerleading squad because Torrance doesn't have Really hard classes this, this year and Torrance is not like, you know, there are other moms that would kill for their daughter to be captain. And her mother says she didn't kill anyone. She ha she had hired a Hitman and that's in reference to one of the. Best named movies of all time, lifetime movie called the positively true adventures of the alleged Texas cheerleader, murdering mom, which that is a
Steve:great title, that it's such a great title for a lifetime movie. You wouldn't fit on a movie marquee, but I don't think that it was ever going to be released to movies.
Stephen:And I just love that it's contradictory in the title, the positively true adventures. Of the alleged at Texas cheerleader murdering mama. It's fantastic. So we move with torrent and like, because of Missy moving to school, Missy also has a brother named cliff and at the beginning, we don't know that they're related, but. Torrents meets cliff and one of the classes, and while he's dealing with new kid bullying, she's immediately nice too. Yes.
Steve:And she's immediately attracted to him with that whole like edgy, cool emo kid. I listened to the clash and I'm super cool. Like type of like stereotype, especially of that time. Do you buy them as a couple?
Stephen:Absolutely because they. Are real with each other where she didn't have to put on the cheerleader personality in front of him. And he didn't always have to be like the, Oh, I'm so deep into this music that you've probably never heard of. The best example is when they're outside with the swing and he's pushing her and they're just talking like,
Steve:Oh yeah, because I mean, it, it must be very hard to tell to 17 or 18 year olds, like you push each other, you know, you're going to push her on the swing and have it be like romantic and cool and not like a creepy pedo thing. Like even the director during the commentary was like, this was very hard to like move from the script to visuals and have it look. And feel cute. And like a lot of it was just their chemistry. You were like, I'll buy it because it's
Stephen:them. Well, the whole scene just really worked and that right there solidified me buying them as a couple. I loved it. Yes.
Steve:Well, early on the first time you really see them actively flirting is during this cheer
Stephen:Down.
Steve:So I know that you might not have gotten as hot and bothered watching it because while you're watching this on the movie, they're also like gazing into each other's eyes and they're having this cheer sex moment, which
Stephen:I had never heard of before.
Steve:Yes. But even, I mean, and for those of you can't use the context. When you're cheering and you're locking eyes with someone you're like cheering at them or for them
Stephen:cheering for them. They're the only
Steve:one in the audience. And so, you know, I know that you never heard of cheer sex before, but in hindsight, when you apply that to acting, do you, have you ever had acting sex?
Stephen:So no, me personally, the last thing I want to do is make eye contact with anyone in the audience while I'm acting, because a. I always want to make sure I don't see the audience and two, it would probably pull me out of the scene. So I personally have never like flirted with someone in the audience while I'm performing that. I don't think it would
Steve:work as well. Yeah, no me either. Not that I prefer too many times, but the few times I've even gone up on stage and helped with burlesque. I go into such kind of a future state with the lights that I'm just like, I want to just get all my things. Right. I don't even see the audience.
Stephen:You're really just in the moment in the moment. And I think. It's easier to stay in the moment with acting versus the cheerleading.
Steve:Yes. And one thing I like is in short succession to build their relationship, it's kind of like a nonverbal 3d because you have this point where he's watching her cheer and they have that chemistry. And then when she goes home, because, because at this point they've kind of figured out that he's twins with Missy. And so then she walks in. To him in his room doing his guitar. And it's that own kind of non-verbal flirting where she's watching him. And she's like kind of turning the tables on him and watching him not speaking a word. And then of course, what scene do we both love the
toothbrush
Stephen:scene?
Steve:Yes. And that was actually recorded on the last day, which I think you can tell what their chemistry, but I can't think of, even with us to this day being married, you know, five years brushing our teeth together without thinking of the scene. Oh,
Stephen:Absolutely. And I'm going to overshare with our audience in the bathroom that is in our bedroom, which is usually where we brush our teeth at night. Sometimes like you'll be peeing right before bed and I'll be brushing my teeth into his shoulder to shoulder, shoulder, to shoulder and things like that, where Like when I spit out the water, the way the sink is shaped, Ms. from me, spitting out water from the two pipes. I hate it so much and I never do it intentionally, but now it's kind of
Steve:funny. It's funny for you because normally at this time I'm most like half asleep. My, my sleep mask is already on because I'm dramatic right before I go to bed. And only before I go to bed.
Stephen:So one of the things that I love of them cheering, and I wanted to bring this up a lot was in my head. We had talked about, you know, if you guys had had a team and they'd be sad to cheer for the Rancho Carnegie Toro's football team is the worst team in the state. They've never won a game. People only come to watch the girls cheer. That's
Steve:what I would
Stephen:do. And so, like there's some SMACtalk between cheerleading squads and there's one. Rival teams, cheerleading squad that comes over and they're all like you totally suck. And our girls are like, that's all right. That's okay. You're going to pump our gas someday. And that always stuck with me as something so funny and creative and like, I love that cheer probably more than any of the other ones.
Steve:See, and like, I mean, I always go with the classic Berber. It's cold in here, but you know why I do that? Well, that's because you want to share with the listeners why I love the
Stephen:Berber, so you get easily cold. And like, we do enjoy keeping the house cooler to go to sleep because we both sleep better when it's cooler. But the time between. Get the house, getting cooled down and then us getting into bed. There's a couple seconds where you're. Like facing the elements and you're like and then immediately one of the other Louis will be like, it's cold in here. Yes. That must be some Toros in the yeah. Misfit.
Steve:Exactly. So, yes, that is a way I certainly love that. But that ultimately ends up not being the tourist. It ends up being the Clover, the clovers,
Stephen:because it turns out that unfortunately the Toros have not been having original cheers. They've been stealing from an inner city school where the squad is run by Gabrielle union.
Steve:Yeah. Yes, it was the, it was the clovers all alone. Well done. Thank you. Yes. And so with it being the clovers, what I do really like about learning the background of the movie is by the time that we watched this final draft of the movie, the character of ISIS is just as this strong, powerful, fully developed character who you want to. Be like, and grow. Like I can see young black girls watching this and looking up to her as a great role model for her team and for her school. Originally, apparently in the script, the, the original scripture character was right out of a blaxploitation movie. That is a quote from the director. Yeah.
Stephen:I don't see Gabrielle signing on for that character at all, especially now, but it's great that she had enough. Personal. Power that time to say, look, I'm not going to play it like
Steve:that. Yeah, exactly. And it's great that raid and her took this chance to really make the character who it was, which must've been an amazing experience as an actor, especially, you know, while she, while she wasn't as young as 17, she was still like, I think 18 or 19, she was extremely young when this movie came out and to be having such a chance to really produce a character in a movie was just. It must've been a great experience and they did a great job because I really like her character and her supporting characters are actually part of a girl. Yeah. Crew,
Stephen:which I think is so really interesting. And I, I do love that they cause the clovers are supporting characters where ISIS is more still one of the leads The supporting characters of the clovers, three of them are more parts than everybody else. Yes. And they do have good chemistry between the group of them. So it does make sense that they were a girl group. Yes.
Steve:Called black B L a Q U E. And so they actually are on the soundtrack. If you check out the soundtrack, you can hear one of their songs
Stephen:and. One of the things that's interesting about this movie is originally you're watching it and you're thinking, Oh, we're supposed to be Touro's fans. And those are our heroes. And then you have the clovers coming along and are these supposed to be our villains? And they immediately flip it where you see that it is big red and white people in general appropriating. Black culture and claiming it as their own.
Steve:Yes. And they, they talk about that right here in this clip
Stephen:and with a video camera firmly attached to her hand, y'all been coming up here for years from our routines and we just love and them on ESPN. What are you talking about? Burr? It's cold in here. I said there must be some Toros in the atmosphere. I know you didn't think of white girl made that shit up. I feel I choose services over as of this moment over Benito has like, every time we get some here, y'all come try to steal it, pin some blonde hair on it. You call it something different. We've had the best squat around for years, but no, one's been able to see what we can do. Oh, but you better believe all that's going to change this year. I'm captain. And I guarantee you will make it to nationals. I love this because it immediately changes things in. You're like, Oh, the clovers, aren't the villains. Goodness, the old Toros are the villains and it's very, it makes you examine things from an entirely new perspective with the movie that you see that the clovers are the underdogs and everyone loves an underdog story. And that they have been working tirelessly and not getting credit for it.
Steve:Yep. And for those of you who Sabrina, the teenage witch, you might not have been as surprised that big red was a villain because Lindsay Sloan, the actress playing big red also was the bitchy cheerleader on the original Sabrina, the teenage witch with Melissa Joan Hart and the talking cat, not the new one. That's edgy and dark. Yeah, but she was the bitchy cheerleader. So I'm like when I saw her, I was like, Ooh, girls are the villain. So I was just waiting for something to happen. So, but I mean, like, I mean, this isn't, I'm sure the only time, well, I know for a fact this isn't the only time that this happens, this happens not just in cheerleading, in high schools, but you know, things like jazz and like things with our culture and our country's history are just so oftentimes taken well. I
Stephen:mean, there was a thing even recently on the tonight show with Jimmy Fallon, he brought on this girl to do. All these famous Tik TOK dances, because during the pandemic tick-tock went huge and people would share videos of them. And he had this white girl on there doing all of these Tik TOK dances. Without giving credit to the people that created them or originally posted. And all of the dances were originally done by black
Steve:girls. Of course they were because they were good to ANSYS
Stephen:and yeah. And the girl doing them, like somebody edited the thing to show side-by-side of the white girl, doing them versus the original. It's just sad. It's like me doing any
Steve:dance that Jimmy's team needs to do it, their research where I hear they're having on the show, but I'm glad that it helped get the story told.
Stephen:Yeah. And this it's, it's done really well. That, and I get, so I give Canberra union a lot more credit with this now, too. That they're telling the story and they're telling it in a really good
Steve:way. Yes, exactly. And the way that they do end up, you know, with the question with this conflict ultimately is that yes, you've been doing this for years, but you didn't know. So what happens now that, you know, and she puts it better in my opinion than I just did. Wait a minute.
Stephen:So that's it. We're just gonna let them go. Yeah, because I'm like them. We have class.
Steve:I swear.
Stephen:I had no idea. Well, now you do. And so that is actually a really good point with things with racism in general, as I've said before, you are not to blame for your upbringing. You are only responsible for growing beyond your initial upbringing and views of the world. And with it and our black friends, and I've seen them say this online and other people, they don't blame people for not knowing better. But once you do know better, you
Steve:do better. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what counts as now, you know, as you, as you were trying to explain, it was about a month ago, but you were trying to explain to someone, you know, why that with the statues? Yes. Why, why some people like, see, you know, civil war statutes as offensive and this, you know, and
Stephen:other people are like, Oh, it's history. And we're like, Oh, okay.
Steve:And so once yesterday, and once you explain how other people feel, it's, you know, now, you know, now, you know how that makes them feel so sure. You didn't say anything before. Cause you didn't know how the statutes were making people feel, but now that you know how it makes them feel, what are you gonna do
Stephen:about it, right. It is now your responsibility once you know, better to do
Steve:better. Exactly. Yes. Although yeah. And one thing that you see here is that doing better? You don't always land on your feet the first time doing better. D cause sometimes when you try and do better, you call Sparky.
Stephen:Well, and again, we can blame worst boyfriend, Aaron. Yes. For this, because he's like, Oh, you need to call Sparky. He knows his shit. And like it's the biggest caricature. The choreographer ever. And can show me, show us a little bit. Yeah. I'm not spirit
Steve:fingers. These
Stephen:are spirit fingers.
Steve:And these. One two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And now I know that you can't see the spirit fingers, but I'm sure that you can feel the spirit fingers through the audio, because just that, that even you hear that sound effect of him going into position, it's like, you can feel the spirit fingers.
Stephen:Well, so, so bad. No, it like Jew. This is, you can hear him doing that. And. Anybody that's seen this movie can visualize it. It's also like Beetlejuice where somebody can show the picture of Catherine O'Hara with her mouth wide open. And you can hear Danielle in your head just
Steve:like that. Yes. And so with the choreography, it just was. Designed apparently to help teach the audience on the difference between a good cheer and a bad one. And
Stephen:the, you obviously get to see that because they go to regionals and the clovers show up with a great routine and there are other good routines that we see from other groups. And then. I mean, it's really bad because the team right before the Toros does the exact same routine, because it turns out Sparky has been peddling this up and down the California coast, but they do this and cheers. They're supposed to be about energy and exciting people. And this one from Sparky does not do that at all. It feels. Awkward and cringe worthy
Steve:and dated older moves and styles. And so they're kind of back to the drawing board with that. And, you know, Missy especially is happy because Missy and Torrance wanted to fix it right away. But with Missy there's one part with Missy's character that just kind of helps sum her up. That I just also love.
Stephen:Hi, transferred from Los Angeles. Your school has no gymnastics team. This is a last resort.
Steve:And so that kind of tells you what you need to know about her character and what I was, what I loved hearing, because I'm such an Eliza do SKU fan is that the director said that that's exactly her personality and they were like, she is,
and
Stephen:I see that and I love that and I am absolutely okay with it. And as I mentioned to you. The one of my favorite things is the chemistry between Eliza Dushku and Jesse Bradford, who plays her brother cliff there on screen. Chemistry is so believable as brother and sister in every single scene. It doesn't seem forced. It seems like they've either been friends for a long time before they filmed this, or they just, somebody struck gold with their chemistry casting because. It's totally believable. And honestly, my favorite relationship in the movie is their brother and
Steve:sister relationship. Yes. But I mean, I think that she can do anything. They, because Missy's the pu so take a big width. I hate that line.
Stephen:So, so much like that's why
Steve:I wrote it into the outline for you. My love.
Stephen:Oh, in the biggest part of my being, I don't know why I have such a strong reaction to that line, but when Kiersten says it, it makes me want to throw things at the TV. No. Oh God, that was awful. Don't do it again. And it's the one thing from the movie. That just,
Steve:Oh, it's like, I'll keep that in my back pocket. I'm glad that we did this movie just so I could learn that about
Stephen:you all. Now let's talk about some male cheerleaders instead.
Steve:All right. Sounds good. Did you want to be a male chief cheerleader ever?
Stephen:So were like. There was a part of me that really enjoyed what they did and that they were spreading joy because that's their whole thing is that they're there to make people happy and cheer for people. And I really liked that and appreciated that. But as I mentioned, growing up where I did, that's not an option like male cheerleaders, especially in my small hometown. Yeah. You wouldn't have been able to survive high school. Like that's just, it wouldn't have worked. Right.
Steve:But that's, what's interesting because that's the stereotype that I would have assumed. And I would have expected in my high school as well. Had we actually had something to cheer for you. It was all girls. There was not a guy. I kind of, the only reason why I would entertain the idea of it was the idea of maybe like finding like another gay cheerleader. Cause we're also, you're going to find them later on. I find you can find them in the flag squad at your local public school.
Stephen:Oh, wait, we did not have men on the flag squad either because of where we were. That is for the girls and no offense, no offense to the girls that I grew up with. The flag squad were for the girls. That couldn't be majorettes. Yes.
Steve:Well, I don't know this worked out, but
Stephen:I do have to go back to the cheer that I remember. And I remember this from junior high. So it was, we were the Spencer middle school, yellow jackets. And so I remember the cheer of. Bang bang. Shoot you chain. Come on jackets. Do your thing. Get it, get it, get it, get it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Good. And let it roll. That's been, thank you. That's been. 27 years or more. And I like, it's still stuck in my head. I
Steve:think that's why cheers is because they stay in your head and they're catchy. And it's why you like a good ear worm, but you also have this unique, strange gift of remembering like jingles from your childhood, from commercials as well. You know, based off of two notes, you'll hear so watch out, like, I don't know why you're not on name that tune yet because you could take us home some money. Well, I
Stephen:do like name that tune, especially in the Whenever they're doing the bid, the note, I mean, how many times have you, and I figured that out just from the clue where we're like, we need zero notes.
Steve:Yeah, yeah, exactly. But with that, yes, I would have joined cheerleader to find another gate cheerleader because that is a stereotype and they do have Hunter Huntley, Ritter as last, who also, I mean, Has a porn star name. Let's just face it right there, but he is the gay one, quote, unquote cer certain things with that do not age from a movie from 2000 to now. One of which is him and Eliza. Dushku both saying the, the F word and that's not fuck it's the worst one. Yeah,
Stephen:it unfortunately is. Fag.
Steve:Yes. And that does not age well for either straight people or gay people or allies or anyone saying
Stephen:it. So I'm kind of shocked that for a high school movie, that they let this through and. Also that, well, they
Steve:also let the R word out.
Stephen:Yeah. The, they say retarded as well. Yeah.
Steve:And I know that that's a word we're supposed to hate, but I giggled with that one line. Cause it was, you know, cheerleaders or just something. Yeah.
Stephen:Dancers or cheerleaders or dancers who have gone retarded,
Steve:but it's a bad word. It's bad, bad, bad.
Stephen:And I. I definitely. Yeah. So there's on the squad. There's a straight one and a gay one. There's Nathan West is Jan and he is the straight one. One of the fun things about him. And if you actually look at the IMD B for a lot of the supporting cast members yeah. Almost all of them are in not another teen movie. Oh really?
Steve:Oh yeah. I do know them from, or are they both in it or is
Stephen:just the one, like, there are like five of the supporting cast members that are in not another teen movie, but Jan is in it. And that is where he met little grey from Grey's anatomy because she was the artists with the overalls and the glasses and not another teen movie. Yeah. And that's where they met and fell in love and they are still married to this day,
Steve:Happily ever after. I love story. I know, I love that
Stephen:one.
Steve:What was interesting about both the characters is how during the auditions, when they're watching people perform with the performances, they were able to express both of their sexualities. Non-verbally just by watching the way that they react to people. You know, while they're having the Broadway dancer or the ballet dancer,
Stephen:ballet dancer, especially. Yeah.
Steve:Less, less, like you see him perk up and he gets all excited with gay while you have, you know, cherry pie, horror girl who is all over and Jan and Jan loves it and falls
Stephen:backwards in his chair.
Steve:And yeah, they did. It's such a, well, I was almost bummed out later on when they had to go in a couple of scenes later and make it all like verbal to have the whole like, well, let's define things of, are you gay? Are you straight? Because they did such a good job doing it. Non-verbal but I guess, you know, of course some people, especially in the year, 2001 and have even gotten those
Stephen:now, that's absolutely true. I don't think you might've needed the further discussion later on. Because it also wouldn't like, I think kids today wouldn't have been as secret about it. Like Eliza meeting, less like. In in school, they would have like, he would have been out and proud and completely, and she wouldn't have had to ask later on about how do
Steve:you define your time? Yeah. Now, nowadays the right thing would be like, define your pronouns. Correct. Now one thing that also, I found interesting as well, you and I both would have assumed that the straight cheerleaders would have been like. Bullied or picked on read, found in his research that more, there were more straight cheerleaders and you would think, especially since footballers would typically play competitive cheerleading off season as the throwers as a way to help keep in shape. And so they have while not necessarily the men during the football season, because you'll see them playing football. But if you see cheerleaders that are in competitions, a lot of them are football players that are just doing this as another way to keep in shape when they're not footballing.
Stephen:That's fascinating. Now in this movie, they do let the footballers bully Jan, the straight cheerleader. And, but he's
Steve:always like, guys, you don't win
Stephen:anything. He's like, they're like Jan, Jan, he's our man. And he's like, dude, you just lost. And they lost like 34 to nothing. So it's, they're that bad. And then later on whenever Some of the football guys are seeing how attractive all the cheerleaders are. One of them go, they see that Jan working, stretching the other two. Yeah. One of the football guys goes, maybe we should join the cheerleading squad. And so it's kind of funny that, you know, you're making fun of him. And then all of a sudden you're like, Oh, it is good. Access to beautiful women. Now, the finale of the movie comes in Orlando for the national cheerleading competition, which I have actually been in Orlando during that. By coincidence. We went for spring break for the millennium.
Steve:Yes. Well, I, our L was actually shot in real life in California, but yes, it does take place in Orlando. And the Toro's routine really does incorporate every dance style, that torrents names, while they're coming up with a show of like jazz and mime and blah,
Stephen:blah, blah. And they, they have only have three weeks to pull this together and they make it into the finals. And then the clovers are also there, who there was a great scene where the clovers originally weren't going to go because they couldn't afford to go Terrance Torrance gets her father's company to help pay for it. And Gabrielle union's like, no. We can't accept this. We can't accept charity from you this way. I have to be strong for my squad and somebody from their neighborhood who is now a television personality, sponsors the girls to go. And it's a great heartwarming feel-good story about people from the neighborhood succeeding. And so they do get to go and they are going head to head in the finals and clovers are doing. The routine that they've done
Steve:forever. Yes. And they almost didn't get the chance because in the original version of the script, they would have been there anyway, but they didn't get that check. They originally just took the check and went to the competition and they didn't get the sponsorship from the local talk show host. It was just, they took the money and mines.
Stephen:And I like this better because. And I, I wonder if Gabrielle union had something to do with that scene as well, because this fits in more with the story that they're telling, and it does come down to two groups, you've got the clovers versus the Toros. The clovers are doing the routine that they've worked hard for over a year and perfect. A great reason. It's amazing. And you've got the Toros who. I have worked really hard this past month to pull this together and it comes down to the end and who wins the
Steve:clovers do, but ultimately at the end, they both do. Because even when they ask Torrens, how second-place feels, babe, how does it feel? It feels just like first. Yes it does. Because everyone ends up living happily ever after laughter
Stephen:and they did the right thing too with having. Because the first time you watch it, you may be like, Oh, the tourist should have one, but you're like, no, that's not actually the theme of this, the theme of the movie was hard work and dedication is how you win. And, and these
Steve:white girls had one month of hard work and dedication while this black school has been doing it for years and not being recognized. Exactly.
Stephen:Clovers deserved the win. Exactly they did. So, yeah. It's a really great movie, darling, what are some of your final thoughts?
Steve:I just know that this is a movie that will always bring a smile to my face. It's one that doesn't get old, that you see new things every time that you find it and the jokes and, and there are just stay funny. It's aging incredibly well. And I like it. It brings me, it brings me happiness.
Stephen:I completely agree. I could watch this, you know, once a month probably. And I would be very happy. It. There's catchy things in it. The cheers are great. The acting is wonderful. It's funny. It's lighthearted, but it deals with serious issues. I love it. Now, here's my question for you. Have you ever seen any
of
Steve:the sequels I've seen? I think more than I remember watching, cause I blocked a lot of them out, but there has been days where I just will watch like, you know, one, two, three, four, and then like I lose count once I start like forgetting the differences between like them, because they do ends up becoming very. Like re copy, cut and copy and paste.
Stephen:I have never seen
Steve:any of them. Oh no. Well, they're all on the peacock right now. So you can watch this and the SQL's on peacock. Oh, excellent. Yes. Now, if you enjoyed this. Our episode, make sure that you subscribe and follow us wherever you're listening so you can get new episodes. Every Wednesday.
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Steve:Exactly. Yes. And until next time everyone stay happy.