In the late summer of 2000, Universal Pictures released a modest \$11 million teen sports comedy directed by music-video veteran Peyton Reed (Down with Love, Ant-Man) and written by Jessica Bendinger. Studio executives expected a disposable late-August box office placeholder.
Instead, Bring It On debuted at #1, grossed over \$90 million, spawned six sequels, a Broadway musical, and permanently etched itself into the American pop-culture lexicon.
On its surface, Bring It On possessed all the candy-colored aesthetics of a turn-of-the-millennium MTV high school comedy. But beneath the synchronized toe-touches, flying basket tosses, and energetic pep rallies, the film pulled off something extraordinary: it delivered an incisive, razor-sharp critique of systemic racial privilege, cultural appropriation, and suburban entitlement.
Rather than treating competitive cheerleading as decorative sideline fluff, Reed shot the routines with the kinetic intensity of athletic combat. And rather than recycling formulaic teen tropes, the film gave every squad member distinct personality, unhinged physical humor, and unforgettable one-liners (“Brrr! It’s cold in here!”, “Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone insane”).
Here is the definitive critical ranking of the 10 best characters from the cult comedy classic Bring It On.
10. Big Red (Lindsay Sloane)
- Portrayed by: Lindsay Sloane
- The Dynamic: The tyrannical former captain whose shameless theft detonates the plot
- Signature Quote: “I’m the captain, I’m the boss, I’m the leader of the squad!”
Every epic conflict requires a catalyst, and Lindsay Sloane delivers one of the most delightfully smug, unrepentant villains in modern teen comedy. As “Big Red,” the graduating captain of the five-time national champion Rancho Carne Toros, she glides through her final days with dictatorial arrogance.
When newly minted captain Torrance discovers that Big Red spent years secretly videotaping and stealing routine choreography from the East Compton Clovers, Big Red doesn’t blink. Sloane’s arrogant rationalization—that she merely took urban routines and made them palatable for middle-class white judges—crystallized the film’s sharp critique of cultural theft long before “appropriation” became a mainstream buzzword.
9. Jan and Les (Nathan West and Huntley Ritter)
- Portrayed by: Nathan West and Huntley Ritter
- The Dynamic: The testosterone-heavy male cheerleaders who love gymnastics and girls in equal measure
- Locker Room Philosophy: Defending their sport against homophobic football players with backflips
Male cheerleaders in 90s teen movies were routinely reduced to lazy punchlines, but Bring It On flipped the script with Jan (Nathan West) and Les (Huntley Ritter). Former high school athletes who realized that cheerleading offered superior athletic conditioning and direct proximity to beautiful women, the duo brought genuine gymnastic power to the Toros.
West and Ritter lean into their characters’ unabashed enthusiasm. Whether shutting down obnoxious football jocks in the cafeteria or passionately defending routine sync, they refused to apologize for their sport. Their running gag—constantly being subjected to invasive athletic taping while maintaining their cool—provided reliable comic relief throughout the squad’s road to Nationals.
8. Whitney and Kasey (Clare Kramer and Nicole Bilderback)
- Portrayed by: Clare Kramer and Nicole Bilderback
- The Dynamic: The cutthroat, status-obsessed senior lieutenants of the Toros
- Weapon of Choice: Brutal audition assessments and toxic suburban entitlement
If Torrance represents the squad’s conscience, Whitney (Clare Kramer) and Kasey (Nicole Bilderback) represent its cutthroat, entitled id. Obsessed with senior status, tanning beds, and crushing rivals, the duo views cheerleading as an aristocratic bloodsport.
Kramer and Bilderback share immaculate comedic sync. During the squad’s open auditions to replace injured flyer Carver, their deadpan, horrified reactions to unqualified applicants are laugh-out-loud funny. When the plagiarism scandal breaks, they fight tooth and nail to keep performing the stolen routine, prioritizing plastic trophies over basic human ethics with magnificent teenage pettiness.
7. Carver (Bianca Kajlich)
- Portrayed by: Bianca Kajlich
- The Dynamic: The fearless daredevil tumbler whose shattered leg sets history in motion
- Signature Injury: Fracturing her tibia in a catastrophic pyramid collapse
Before Bianca Kajlich starred in CBS’s Rules of Engagement, she gave Bring It On its most painful, hilarious physical stunt. As Carver, the Toros’ star tumbler, her reckless abandon during an outdoor practice session leads to a cringe-inducing compound leg fracture.
Carver’s hospital bedside scene—drugged on heavy painkillers while dramatically informing Torrance that she carries the “Cheer Curse”—is teen melodrama played to perfection. Kajlich’s brief screen time set the entire narrative into motion, opening the single roster spot that brought Missy into the Toros orbit.
6. Cliff Pantone (Jesse Bradford)
- Portrayed by: Jesse Bradford
- The Dynamic: The punk-rock, guitar-playing romantic rebel who listens to The Clash
- Iconic Gesture: The cassette mixtape titled “For Torrance, with an entirely inappropriate amount of love”
Every teen queen needs an unconventional love interest, and Jesse Bradford’s Cliff Pantone remains one of the premier teen movie heartthrobs of the 2000s. The sarcastic, alternative-rock-loving transfer student from Los Angeles, Cliff initially views cheerleading with smug indie-rock contempt.
Bradford brings breezy, effortless charm to the screen. Rather than mocking Torrance’s passion, he becomes her creative sounding board, composing an acoustic power-pop track on his bedroom guitar that inspires her to design an original routine. The electric romantic tension during their synchronized teeth-brushing scene in the bathroom is widely considered one of the sweetest, most inventive romantic beats in high school cinema.
5. Sparky Polastri (Ian Roberts)
- Portrayed by: Ian Roberts
- The Dynamic: The tyrannical, theater-kid choreography guru hired to save the squad
- Immortal Catchphrase: “These aren’t spirit fingers… THESE ARE SPIRIT FINGERS!”
Ian Roberts, a legendary co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv empire alongside Amy Poehler, steals the entire middle act of the film as Sparky Polastri. Hired by desperate Toros parents for \$2,000 to ghostwrite a championship routine in a weekend, Sparky is an unhinged, self-important theater tyrant.
Roberts turns Sparky’s bootcamp into a masterclass in deadpan physical comedy. Screaming at teenage girls about inner spirit, aggressively waving his jazz hands (“Spirit fingers!”), and forcing the squad to perform bizarre avant-garde pantomimes, Roberts’ comic commitment is legendary. The gut-punch reveal at Regionals—where five different rival high schools all perform Sparky’s exact same routine to the exact same music—remains one of the funniest narrative rug-pulls in sports movie history.
4. Missy Pantone (Eliza Dushku)
- Portrayed by: Eliza Dushku
- The Dynamic: The cynical, combat-boot-wearing gymnast who brings rock-and-roll rebellion to the pom-poms
- Audition Triumph: Flawlessly landing a roundoff back handspring in front of stunned suburbanites
Hot off her breakout performance as the dangerous rogue slayer Faith across the Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, Eliza Dushku brought razor-sharp anti-establishment edge to the high-gloss world of cheer. Forced to attend Rancho Carne after moving from L.A., Missy only tries out for the squad because the school lacks a gymnastics team.
Dushku is the film’s indispensable truth-teller. Unimpressed by pep rallies and suburban cliques, Missy is the one who drags Torrance across town to East Compton, forcing her to witness the Clovers performing the Toros’ signature routine. Dushku plays Missy with cool swagger, athletic power, and dry sarcasm, transforming what could have been a hostile rivalry into a catalyst for justice.
3. Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst)
- Portrayed by: Kirsten Dunst
- The Dynamic: The newly crowned captain desperate to conquer the “Cheer Curse” with clean hands
- Opening Feat: Leading the immortal bedroom opening chant: “I’m sexy, I’m cute, I’m popular to boot!”
Kirsten Dunst had been a celebrated child dramatic actress in Interview with the Vampire and The Virgin Suicides, but Bring It On revealed her world-class comedic timing and infectious screen magnetism. As Torrance Shipman, Dunst turns a perky, blonde cheerleader archetype into an endearing, anxious moral crusader.
What makes Torrance extraordinary is her integrity. When she realizes her five-time national champion squad built their dynasty on stolen labor, she refuses to take the easy way out. Dunst commits wholeheartedly to the physical comedy—her manic bedroom cheer routine, her panicky sideline pep-talks, and her desperate efforts to teach her squad original moves. Torrance’s growth from a people-pleasing teenager into a principled leader gives the film its genuine emotional heartbeat.
2. Jenelope and Lafred (Natina Reed and Brandi Williams)
- Portrayed by: Natina Reed and Brandi Williams (members of R&B group Blaque)
- The Dynamic: The fierce, lyrical enforcers of the East Compton Clovers
- Iconic Confrontation: Delivering the devastating sideline clapback that froze the Toros in their tracks
Cast directly from the platinum-selling R&B girl group Blaque, the late Natina Reed (Jenelope) and Brandi Williams (Lafred) gave the East Compton Clovers unforgettable swagger, impeccable musical rhythm, and sharp comedic fire.
Reed, in particular, radiates magnetic star power. Her fierce, rhyming trash-talk during the high school football game confrontation (“You’re paying for it with our moves! We’re putting the hurt on you!”) is an immortal pop-culture highlight. Bringing authentic hip-hop flow, dynamic athleticism, and unyielding confidence to every scene, they ensured that the Clovers never felt like secondary antagonists, but rather a powerhouse squad demanding their rightful place on the national stage.
1. Isis (Gabrielle Union)
- Portrayed by: Gabrielle Union
- The Dynamic: The brilliant, unyielding captain of the East Compton Clovers fighting for rightful recognition
- Immortal Ultimatum: “You’ve been stealing our routines for years… but this year, we’re taking what’s ours.”
There was never any contest. Gabrielle Union’s performance as Isis is not merely the finest character in Bring It On; she is the undisputed moral anchor and cultural soul of the entire franchise.
Operating with a fraction of the Toros’ suburban financial resources, Isis leads the Clovers with immaculate discipline, regal dignity, and unmatched athletic precision. When Torrance attempts to ease her own guilt by having her wealthy father write a corporate sponsorship check so the Clovers can afford bus fare to Nationals, Union delivers a masterclass in pride: she rips up the check on live television and raises the funds from their own community.
Union refused to let Isis become an aggressive caricature, portraying her with fierce intelligence, grace, and athletic superiority. When the Clovers take the mat in the final showdown and perform their electrifying, flawless routine to win the National Championship, it isn’t just a sports victory—it is justice. Isis cemented Gabrielle Union as an indelible Hollywood leading lady and established Bring It On as an immortal American classic.
The Enduring Legacy of Bring It On
Over two decades after its premiere, Bring It On continues to outshine its teen comedy contemporaries because its humor is grounded in honesty. By pairing hilarious, breathless physical comedy with bold, unflinching cultural commentary, Peyton Reed and his extraordinary cast created a sports comedy that refuses to age. It remains funny, vital, and undeniably iconic.