August (Web-only) 2000

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It seems movie stars are growing less reliable these days. Christian critics, at least, were happier with a guy in a rubber suit (Godzilla 2000) and several TV comics (The Original Kings of Comedy) than they were with such star vehicles as The Art of War (Wesley Snipes), The Cell (Jennifer Lopez), or The Crew (Richard Dreyfuss). As an interesting counterpoint, Us Weekly reports that stars are finding more fulfillment in their families than their celebrity these days.

Bring It On, a high-school cheerleading comedy that reveals cheering as a grueling sport, topped the box office with an unexpectedly robust $17.4 million. Mary Draughon of Preview writes that "unlike many teenage films portraying cheerleaders as egotistical and shallow, these high school students work hard and learn that competing fairly is more important than winning. … [It also delivers] laughs in the comical mishaps of teenagers struggling to meet the challenges of competition." Focus on the Family's Lindy Beam highlights a strong lesson in fair competition, as the squad's decision to drop its stolen routine and create an original one "gives hearty affirmation to the fact that doing the right thing really feels good." But negatives outweighed positives for most Christian critics. "It's 99 minutes of ogling underdressed and underaged girls who behave like future tabletop dancers," argues the Dove Foundation. Crosswalk.com's Holly McClure adds that "this is an irreverent look at high school, so there's plenty of colorful language, crude dialogue, jokes about gay cheerleaders, locker room scenes with girls in their underwear, lots and lots of sexual remarks and a couple of implied sexual situations." Michael Elliott of Crosswalk.com found himself ...