Full Review

Director Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the teen cheerleading flick "Bring It On," achieves the same empty-headed energy in "Stick It" (Touchstone), an inconsequential film set against the hypercompetitive world of professional gymnastics.

Missy Peregrym stars as Haley "Graham Cracker" Graham, a rebellious 17-year-old one-time world-class gymnast whose reputation was forever stained when she walked out in the middle of a major competition, costing her team top honors.

That behind her, she now gets her gravity-defying fix doing dangerous bike stunts with buddies Poot and Frank (John Patrick Amedori and Kellan Lutz). A run-in with the law lands her in a gymnastics academy rather than juvenile prison.

Haley gripes that gymnastic judging favors conventionality over originality. The same could be said of the film's formulaic script, which has the school's tough-love coach, Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) -- a former pro who is not above lying to mothers about their daughter's Olympic potential -- impart life lessons while working her back into championship shape.

So, too, the initial hostility and competitive edge of the other gymnasts (including Vanessa Lengies, Maddy Curley and Nikki Soohoo) eventually thaws into friendship.

Bendinger conveys the athletes' dedication and grueling training but fails to capture the excitement of the sport, especially during the climactic tournament. While kaleidoscopic-effects shots of the girls flipping through the air and images of Peregrym's sculpted body abound, sequences of actual gymnastic routines are surprisingly sparse.

Peregrym, looking uncannily like Hillary Swank, injects personality and perky charm into an otherwise cliched role, as do the other young actresses.

The title refers to gymnastic slang for a flawlessly executed landing, though here it seems to connote something more defiant, as suggested by the film's tag line "Defy and Conquer." The story becomes less one of redemption than of "sticking it" to the judges, underscoring the film's girl-power message about thumbing your nose at the rules. And while its positive themes of second chances, fellowship and self-validation balance its more contrarian strains, there is a subtle anti-authority sentiment woven throughout the script.

The film's targeted young female viewers may respond to its hip vibe, music-video look and amped-up soundtrack while overlooking both its ridiculously implausible ending and a plot as thin as the sport's balance beam.

But most audiences will probably agree with Burt that, whether it's gymnastics or storytelling, flashiness is a poor substitute for strong fundamentals.

The film contains some crude language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.