I
have been following the career of Kirsten Dunst ever
since at the age of 12 she turned in a stunning performance as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire
Chronicles . I still remember laughing when I heard that when interviewed about the movie she
made a comment about how distasteful being forced to kiss Brad Pit was. A year later (1995) she held her own
performing with Robin Williams in Jumanji.
Also in 1995 Kirsten sought out and got the leading role in Children Remember the
Holocaust. In this made for TV
production Kirsten plays a modern teenager who learns to appreciate what
children in the holocaust went through. She makes a personal connection to the
past when she experiences first hand
the plight of her relatives that suffered in a German concentration camp as
children half a century earlier.
Since then Kirsten has been in more
than a dozen productions. Last year I
saw her in two comedies Drop Dead
Gorgeous and Dick
both of which had funny moments, but neither of which made my must see
list. Then I saw The Virgin Suicides and was
blown away. Kirsten now 18 was
hauntingly seductive as high school student who is smart, popular and fun. At the same time she comes from a repressive
home that leads her to becoming tragically suicidal.
And now comes Bring It On. The big question for me was, am I going to
see the stunning young woman of Virgin Suicides, or am I going to see the
flighty airhead from Dick. The first
twenty minutes of the movie answered that for me. I thought I was watching a grade B cheerleader movie complete
with an extended locker room scene.
There were enough teenagers in bras and panties to satisfy all but the
most ardent voyeurs. Kirsten plays Torrance
Shipman who has achieved her ultimate goal.
She is captain of the cheerleading squad at a high school where
cheerleaders are bigger stars than the football players they cheer. I was beginning to think I was going to gag
if forced to watch one more teenaged seductress flashing her panties.
Then something happened.
A series of events threatened to bring Torrance’s perfect world down in
ruins. Suddenly Torrance had to stop
following her predetermined path and take command of her life. Torrance learns who her real friends
are. She begins to discover inner
strengths that she never imagined were there.
I had to stop and reevaluate. This was not a grade B cheerleader movie. I had been setup. The first twenty minutes of the movie were to show me where
Torrance Shipman the adolescent came from.
I was now seeing Torrance Shipman the emerging adult. I was starting to care about her. I was getting to know and care about her
friends and her enemies. And yes I was
starting to care about cheerleading. By
the end of the movie I was a fan and had a big smile like everyone else when
the winner of the national cheerleading championship was announced.
During the closing credits are some of the best outtakes I
have seen. I left the theater feeling
life is not so bad so “Bring It On”.
Stephen Van Lydegraf
September 2, 2000