[ThisWeek] Stick It at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

[thisweek at kenworthy.org]

This week at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre...

Stick It (PG-13)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday, June 29 & 30, July 1 & 2
7:00 PM
$5/adult, $3/child under 13
KFS pass accepted for Sunday movies
(See movie review below)
* * *

Next week at the Kenworthy-

Kinky Boots
Thursday - Sunday, July 6, 7, 8 & 9
* * *

Also showing in July:

Hoot (PG)
Sponsored by Wells Fargo
Wednesday, July 12
1:00 PM

X-Men
Thursday ­ Sunday, July 13 - 16

Nanny McPhee (PG)
Wednesday, July 19
1:00 PM

DaVinci Code
Friday ­ Sunday, July 21 ­ 23

Ice Age 2 The Meltdown
Sponsored by US Bank
Wednesday ­ Sunday, July 26 ­ 30

Goal: The Dream Begins
Thursday ­ Sunday, August 3 - 6

Regular movie prices:  $5/adult, $3/child 12 or younger
Wednesday matinee prices: $4/adult, $1/child 12 or younger
KFS series pass prices:  $30/10 films, $75/30 films.  KFS pass good only for
Sunday movies.

For more information on movies, events, rental rates, and/or to download a
schedule, visit our website at www.kenworthy.org
* * *
This week¹s movie review-

Stick It

Written and directed by Jessica Bendinger
Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). This film contains profanity,
sexual innuendoes, and Jeff Bridges bouncing on a trampoline.

As reviewed by Nathan Lee writing for the New York Times

A spry teenage comedy that gets everything right, "Stick It" takes the usual
batch of underdogs, dirt bags, mean girls and bimbos and sends them
somersaulting through happy clichés and unexpected invention. As is to be
hoped from a chick flick set in the world of elite gymnastics, the sass
crackles, the soundtrack pops (to hip-hop, punk and Perry Como) and there
are plentiful scenes, cleverly shot, of teenagers in leotards triple
flipping with aplomb.

Jeff Bridges ‹ bonus! ‹ brings a center of gravity to these whirl-a-gig
diversions as the affable Burt Vickerman, gymnastics guru
semi-extraordinaire. Into his no-nonsense arms tumbles the resourceful and
radiant Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), an ex-champion turned slacker with a
chip on her shoulder and a skeleton in her closet.

"Stick It" is the not-quite-predictable story of Haley's return to
competition and how she liberates her past, learns its lessons and is joined
by her teammates in leveraging this knowledge against the Man (here
represented by uptight parents and judges with grudges). It is a triumph for
the writer and director Jessica Bendinger, who brings a sly eye and avid
imagination to every scene, springing fresh rhythms and bold colors out of
the formulaic material.

Not to be a killjoy, but the best stuff here isn't the cartwheels scored to
Talib Kweli, excellent as they are, nor the bitchy banter about how totally
"leotarded" an outfit is. Culminating in a defiant act of subversion and
solidarity, "Stick It" knows that some games are won by refusing to play.
Forget girl-power bromides; here's a movie that lets young women reclaim
their bodies (skilled, scrutinized, criticized and exploited) in order to
embody genuine populism.

It's a lot of fun to see a genre movie leap over expectations; it's
downright dizzying to watch it bounce on an ethos of spandex-clad
resistance.


As reviewed by Peter Hartlaub writing for the San Francisco Chronicle

Jessica Bendinger wrote the cheerleading dark comedy "Bring It On," and for
her directorial debut, she takes the exact same premise and applies it to
competitive gymnastics. This tomboy-fish-out-of-water theme has also been
covered in everything from "The Bad News Bears" to the second season of "The
Facts of Life."

So it's a credit to Bendinger's attention to the little details that make
"Stick It" feel so unique and entertaining -- poking fun at elite-level
child athletics while still respecting its young characters and their
feelings. Much of the honest dialogue has the same feel as John Hughes' and
Cameron Crowe's movies during their best years, while there's a half-serious
hipness that recalls the first eight episodes of "The O.C."

Jeff Bridges plays gymnastics coach Burt Vickerman just right, acting tough
and unscrupulous while still being in on the joke. You get the impression
that he watched tapes and hung out with a half-dozen real-life coaches to
get the mannerisms right, even though this is mostly a comedy role.

Once in the gym, the collection of "Mean Girls"-style leaders and followers
are given plenty of great lines ("Who died and made you Nadia?"), while
still revealing a few surprises within their stock characters. Even the
nastiest girl in the gym, played by the lovely Vanessa Lengies, shows some
vulnerability: She's been pushed so hard by her mother that the prospect of
going to the prom is like you or me going to the moon.

Peregrym, a relative newcomer, is the real find here -- playing straight
woman to the obsessive gymnasts part of the time while showing flashes of
sardonic humor when called upon. With no love interest (a bold choice by
Bendinger that the studio must have hated), most of Haley's conflict is with
Vickerman, which could have been really creepy if either actor faltered. She
acts tough and wears every punk and heavy metal T-shirt from the Hot Topic
catalog, but lets just enough sensitivity seep out of the tough shell to
remain sympathetic.

For anyone who might care, the gymnastics is excellent in the movie.
Secondary gymnast characters are played by Nikki SooHoo and Maddy Curley,
who have strong backgrounds in the sport. Bendinger didn't have much
competition in her attempt to make the best gymnastics movie ever.
("American Anthem"? "Gymkata"?) But thanks in part to the stunt doubles for
Peregrym and Lengies -- the ever-flexible Isabelle Severino and Annie Gagnon
-- when it comes to athletes who look like they know what they're doing,
"Stick It" is the "Hoosiers" of gymnastics.

In writing these kinds of movies, Bendinger appears to have found her
calling. Maybe the model-turned-screenwriter has only one good idea, but
that's OK. J.D. Salinger wrote the same story over and over, and people are
still sneaking onto his property.


As reviewed by Sean Axmaker writing for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

As the past decades of Olympic competition will attest, gymnastics is
dominated by an increasingly younger slate of girls pushing their growing
bodies to the physical limits to meet the rigorous guidelines of judging
criteria.

The girls strike back with "Stick It," a sports empowerment fantasy of the
best kind. This teen rebel drama has a cause: to take the sport back from
the edicts of its at times arbitrary judges and redefine it as a form of
self-expression and personal achievement.

A fit and insolent Missy Peregrym plays former
world-class-gymnast-turned-angry-young-woman Haley, who vents her
aggressions through extreme sports and the attendant property damage of
push-it-too-the-limit dares. Dad saves her from juvenile hall by enrolling
her in a gymnastics academy run by maverick coach Burt Vickerman (Jeff
Bridges) and lorded over by a bitchy rival (Vanessa Lengies) whose
competitive streak is matched only by her ignorance.

Vickerman's program has a reputation for injuring pupils, though we see no
evidence to support the whispers, and it's hardly the boot camp the film
makes it out to be. No matter. Vickerman's validation is an afterthought to
Haley's story, a classic sport-rebel journey with a twist, a double flip and
a perfect landing.

Writer/director Jessica Bendinger (screenwriter of the cute and brash "Bring
it On") breathes new life into old cliches. The former music video director
celebrates the achievement of the athletes and the beauty of the movement
with a fresh style and a dynamic look, and she energizes the drama with
attitude, cheeky humor and youthful energy.

More importantly, she delivers a message of solidarity, strength of
character and standing up for yourself and your friends against calcified
judges and competition-hungry parents, with a triumphant charge.


Film reviews researched and edited by Peter Haggart
* * *

Take a seat!  We mean that literally.  The Kenworthy is offering you the
opportunity to purchase one of a limited number of theater chairs in the
main auditorium.  Your gift will entitle you to an engraved, brass name
plate mounted on the back of the seat of your choice (based upon
availability).  One individual or business name per seat, please.

This naming opportunity, back by popular demand, is available for a donation
of $500 per chair.  You may purchase a chair in two installments of $250
over two years, or in three installments of $200 over three years.

Your gift will assist with the ongoing operation and renovation of the
Kenworthy Theater and fulfillment of our mission to be Moscow's premiere,
historic, downtown, community performing arts venue and cinematic art house.

For information about the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, call Julie
Ketchum, Executive Director, at 208-882-4127.
* * *

Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
508 S. Main Street, Moscow, Idaho
208-882-4127
Sign up for this weekly email on events and movies at the Kenworthy by
logging onto our website
http://www.kenworthy.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PAMELA PALMER, Volunteer
Mailto:ppalmer at moscow.com
Film and Events Committee
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

http://www.kenworthy.org
To speak with a KPAC staff member,
call (208) 882-4127
Mailto:kpac at moscow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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