Movie Review: 'Fired Up' is surprisingly charming
Bikini-clad babes and sniggering humor abound in the teen sex comedy “Fired Up!,” but so do some other things: namely a charming cast, glimmers of intelligence and a sweetly youthful spirit.
You wouldn’t have guessed as much from the plot. Two high-school football stars, Shawn (Nicholas D’Agosto) and Nick (Eric Christian Olsen), have seduced nearly every female classmate at Gerald R. Ford High and are hungry for fresh prey. Their solution: a summer cheerleading camp where the girls are limber and the men are mostly gay. By the end, of course, they’ll learn about team spirit and sacrifice, and Shawn will fall for a no-nonsense cheer captain, Carly (an appealing Sarah Roemer, from “Disturbia”).
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"Fired Up" stars Sarah Roemer, Danneel Harris, Molly Sims, Eric Christian Olsen and AnnaLynne McCord in a Sony/Screen Gems release. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, partial nudity, language and some teen partying. Watch »
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, partial nudity, language and some teen partying
Length: 90 minutes
Released: February 20, 2009 NationwideScore: 3.0
Cast: Sarah Roemer, Danneel Harris, Molly Sims, Eric Christian Olsen, AnnaLynne McCord
Director: Will GluckProducer: Matthew Gross
Writer: Freedom Jones
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Sony/Screen Gems
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From the opening sequence — a Keystone Kops chase involving the boys, two sisters and an irate father — “Fired Up!” feels more like a gallop through Swinging London than a modern-day raunch-fest. (There’s even a 1960s-style theme song during the wacky moments.) Debut director Will Gluck lays off the bodily functions and instead aims for silly set-pieces and quirky, offbeat humor. One character actually cracks a joke about Alvin Ailey.
The two relatively unknown leads aren’t exactly Martin and Lewis, or even Hanks and Scolari from TV’s “Bosom Buddies.” But they have a natural charm, oozing sincerity and insincerity at once. And in the best tradition of buddy comedies, Shawn and Nick do everything together. Though sprinkled with pop-culture humor, “Fired Up!” is almost a throwback, lacking nudity, drug use and gag-worthy gags. That may not be the formula for a successful teen comedy, but it sure is refreshing.
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