JayRo Watches Movies: Fired Up

Midway through Fired Up, the cheerleaders watch Bring It On, and recite the lines to th movie with the movie. It's there as a nod to it's predecessor, to show where the roots of Fired Up were derived. It is too bad for Fired Up the acknowledgement also reminds the viewer that Bring It On is a superior movie.

I don't mean that to bash Fired Up. It's a fine movie with consistent laughs. However, it suffers from a split personality which ends up holding it back from being an even stronger movie. Fired Up doesn't know if it wants to be a smart comedy (a la Bring It On), a profane comedy or a romantic comedy, so it tries to be all three. This leads it to be a weaker movie, as it fails to get past the cliche romantic comedy plot, nor does it bring anything exceptionally raunchy to the table. There is wit, but the movie is saved by the performances of the leads. They realise their characters are essentially likeable con men who mature into - gasp - having feelings. They play the characters to perfection, showing us charm even when we know they are being deceivious, so that we actually care when they make the transformation.

In the end, I give Fired Up a thumbs up, though I wish it would have chosen whether it wanted to go for raunch or brains. A commitment one way or another would have made it a better movie.