Like most of the cheerleading movies released in the past few years, "Fired Up!" fails to measure up to the subgenre's virtuoso: "Bring It On" (2000). Unlike the flagship self-aware cheerleading movie, "Fired Up!" fluctuates between owning its cheesy premise and acting superior to it. Along the way, it demeans some of its audience -- namely women and the gay community -- and strictly adheres to the teen B-movie pattern.
"Fired Up!" follows Nick (played by Eric Christian Olsen) and Shawn (Nick D'Agosto), two high school football studs whose collective goal is to hook up with as many hot, gullible girls as possible. In order to find a new group to victimize, Nick and Shawn decide to eschew football training in favor of cheer camp, an oasis filled with 300 unsuspecting, nubile cheerleaders.
Of course, throughout the duration of the film, the complicated art of cheerleading wins the boys over, and they eventually dedicate themselves to helping the squad in the inevitable end-of-camp competition. Meanwhile, Shawn violates the bro code by falling in love with Carly (Sarah Roemer), the headstrong squad captain. His only obstacle is her obnoxious boyfriend Dr. Rick (David Walton): Wacky misunderstandings ensue.
If this all sounds a bit familiar, don't worry, "Fired Up!" knows it. The film references an inordinate number of other movies, from "The Shining" (1980) to "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) to "Hamlet 2" (2008). Most egregious is a highly self-aware scene in which the cheerleaders at the camp collectively recite the dialogue while watching their communal favorite movie, "Bring It On."
On top of the multiple references to the Hollywood formula, "Fired Up!" contains several jokes that refer directly to the by-the-books nature of the film, pointing out its own plot holes and poor logic. But at times, with its Sorkin-lite dialogue and audience winks, "Fired Up!" acts like it is above the stereotypical, fluffy movies that Hollywood churns out every year.
Ultimately, though, the film is a slave to its instincts. Like any cheerleading movie, it has a plot that relies on clichés. When a dangerous cheer stunt is hinted at in the first act, a suspenseful attempt of the "Fountain of Troy" seems, and is, inevitable. When Carly's college-age boyfriend drives up in his BMW convertible blasting "Mambo No. 5," the audience expects him to be an adulterous jerk. When Shawn tells his football team, "You have to risk it to get the biscuit," it's no surprise when the same phrase later reappears and motivates the cheer squad to success.
"Fired Up!" also follows the example set by the teen movie pantheon in its dearth of strong female characters. Almost every girl, from the cheerleaders to the middle-aged coach (Edie McClurg of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986)), is completely susceptible to Nick and Shawn's act. The only two to refuse their advances, Carly and the married head counselor Diora (Molly Sims), stereotypically end up giving in by the end of the movie.
The three gay characters in the film are also depicted with little sensitivity. Adhir Kalyan's Brewster is an awkwardly over-the-top gay stereotype. The other two characters, following the "Wedding Crashers" (2005) mold, make predatory sexual advances on oblivious and unyielding targets.
The performances in "Fired Up!" run the gamut. D'Agosto would come off as a likable, charming leading man if his character wasn't an irredeemable jerk. Olsen delivers quick banter with a strange inflection. Roemer turns in a generic "love interest" performance, reciting jokes like she doesn't understand them. Even the often-heroic John Michael Higgins ("Best in Show" (2000), "Arrested Development") repeatedly embarrasses himself by yelling, chanting, and dancing.
The main problem, though, is that "Fired Up!" isn't all that funny. The comedic set pieces are more uncomfortable than uproarious, and, despite half-hearted steps toward clever self-awareness, it remains little more than a Hollywood exercise.
