Look, this writer hates teen sex comedies as much as the next person. They’re formulaic, generic, and usually revolve ridiculously around sports. Each one seems to be trying to be the next American Pie, especially the American Pie series itself. They all deal either with high-schoolers losing their virginity as a rite of passage or veterans looking for more challenging notches to put on their belts.
So what makes 2009’s Fired Up! any different? The little moments. Now, to be clear, the little moments in movies do not necessarily make movies great overall. But ask any friend about certain DVDs they own. Maybe they have a copy of a movie that is generally seen as a bad movie. When you ask them why they own it, they’ll say either “it’s my guilty pleasure” or “the little moments.” It does not matter what everyone else likes. It matters what you like.
To quickly explain, Fired Up! is a close copy of Wedding Crashers. It follows two guys (Eric Christian Olsen and Nicholas D’Agnosto) who sleep with lots of girls and are looking to sleep with more. They deduce that their high school’s cheerleading camp will house 300 hot girls and no guys. Planning to use their expertise and the convenient guy/girl ratio, the two join the cheerleading squad so that they can go to camp. While there, one of them (D’Agnosto) falls for a girl (Sarah Roemer) that he doesn’t just want to sleep with; he wants to get to know her. This girl has a boyfriend (David Walton) who is a complete assbag so that the audience will root against him and for the protagonist who, even though he may be the better choice, is nevertheless trying to steal another dude’s girlfriend. All the while, it’s a matter of time before the girls figure out that our heroes are frauds. Hilarity ensues.
Please do not take this movie seriously. It sure doesn’t. You’d be doing yourself a disservice by trying to penalize this film for falling short of its potential. You’d be wrong. This film is exactly what it wanted to be. It was funny, light entertainment with funny actors possessing great comedic timing and engaging humor. Don’t overthink it.
So what makes 2009’s Fired Up! any different? The little moments. Now, to be clear, the little moments in movies do not necessarily make movies great overall. But ask any friend about certain DVDs they own. Maybe they have a copy of a movie that is generally seen as a bad movie. When you ask them why they own it, they’ll say either “it’s my guilty pleasure” or “the little moments.” It does not matter what everyone else likes. It matters what you like.
To quickly explain, Fired Up! is a close copy of Wedding Crashers. It follows two guys (Eric Christian Olsen and Nicholas D’Agnosto) who sleep with lots of girls and are looking to sleep with more. They deduce that their high school’s cheerleading camp will house 300 hot girls and no guys. Planning to use their expertise and the convenient guy/girl ratio, the two join the cheerleading squad so that they can go to camp. While there, one of them (D’Agnosto) falls for a girl (Sarah Roemer) that he doesn’t just want to sleep with; he wants to get to know her. This girl has a boyfriend (David Walton) who is a complete assbag so that the audience will root against him and for the protagonist who, even though he may be the better choice, is nevertheless trying to steal another dude’s girlfriend. All the while, it’s a matter of time before the girls figure out that our heroes are frauds. Hilarity ensues.
No, really. It does. This movie took a very generic plot and made it funny. The strength of this film is the interplay between the characters. Everyone is charming in this movie, even the antagonist and his cronies. It’s all in good fun. This is not a timeless comedy. It’s just something fun to watch with friends. Fans of John Michael Higgins will be pleased with his role in this film as the camp cheerleading coach. Higgins delivers as always and makes the most of his minimal screen time.
No, really. It does. This movie took a very generic plot and made it funny. The strength of this film is the interplay between the characters. Everyone is charming in this movie, even the antagonist and his cronies. It’s all in good fun. This is not a timeless comedy. It’s just something fun to watch with friends. Fans of John Michael Higgins will be pleased with his role in this film as the camp cheerleading coach. Higgins delivers as always and makes the most of his minimal screen time.
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