On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age. First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing. Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation .
The year 2000 was the New Hollywood of cheerleaders in film. After years of movies in which teen girls with pom poms were reduced to one-note bitches and bimbos, Y2K saw the easy-to-stereotype athletes receive a sudden rush of cinematic respect with Peyton Reed’s instant classic “ Bring It On .” Starring Kirsten Dunst and Gabrielle Union, the story of a rivalry between two cheer squads combined an authentic love for the (extremely grueling) work of cheer captains with fun flirty comedy and a surprisingly intelligent depiction of cultural appropriation.
It was a box office hit, positively reviewed, and inspired many a copycat — most of which didn’t hold a candle to the original classic in quality. Just five months after Dunst cartwheeled into the public’s heart, a vastly different but still wildly memorable cheerleader story released to little fanfare. Shoved out into theater in January 2001 by New Line Cinema, “Sugar & Spice” and its slightly cynical, weirder take on high school life could be mistaken for a parody of Reed’s film if you squint; Marley Shelton’s naive blonde capt.