Spring Break
'Fired Up' exactly what its previews promise
Despite stereotypes and clichés, teen movie satisfyingly fun, full of laughs
By: Ben Johnson
Issue date: 2/27/09 Section: Features
Some guys will go to any length to get girls. Though many a noble soul has dared barren landscapes, hordes of evil combatants and the crippling fear of rejection to woo a fair maiden, there are some of a lesser stock. Two of this inglorious caste are the principal characters of the teen comedy "Fired Up."
Shawn (Nicholas D'Agosto) and Nick (Eric Christian Olsen) are a dynamic duo whose sole goal in life is living up their high school experience. Both play for the school football team, and share an all-too-familiar obsession with girls.
These two have in spades what so many high school (and even college level) guys desperately crave: "game." Unfortunately, the duo is on the brink of being forced to waste two precious weeks of their "wild oats" season at football camp in Texas.
Their solution to this conundrum is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but admirably ambitious: instead of going to football camp, the two decide to go to cheer camp. The polar opposite of football camp, cheer camp is three weeks of double flips, high-flying acrobatics, cheering and as many make out and skinny-dipping sessions as the two can cram into their schedules. But Shawn soon makes the cardinal mistake of falling for one of the girls at the camp, complicating their less-than-admirable ends.
"Fired Up" is really nothing that hasn't been done to death - even in a teen movie. Stereotypes abound, as do a laundry list of overused clichés. In this particular genre, however, lightning can strike more than once, and for all its unoriginality, "Fired Up" is a lot of fun.
Perhaps a bit unscrupulous, Nick and Shawn are nonetheless two highly entertaining characters. Having worked out an extensive wingman system, the two use an intricate arrangement of football plays to extricate themselves from hazardous situations or to snag the next feminine target. The movie reveals a deeper side to each of the characters, making them a bit more likeable.
Though the movie naturally features a hearty stock of sexual innuendo and humor, "Fired Up" is not to be compared with more raunchy comedies like "Superbad" or "Knocked Up."
Another truly funny element of the film's narrative is how the two manage to change. By the time cheer camp is over, the previously macho combination have become quite fired up about winning the cheering competition and utilize acrobatic abilities to do things such as obtain out-of-reach items in the kitchen.
"Fired Up" is exactly what it advertises itself as in its previews, which makes it satisfying if nothing else. Nick and Shawn are certainly no Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin combo, but their smooth talking and wacky behavior are a source of numerous laughs. "Fired Up" is ultimately about as dumb as it is funny. But that's all a teen comedy really aspires to be in the first place, so that makes "Fired Up" a success.
Shawn (Nicholas D'Agosto) and Nick (Eric Christian Olsen) are a dynamic duo whose sole goal in life is living up their high school experience. Both play for the school football team, and share an all-too-familiar obsession with girls.
These two have in spades what so many high school (and even college level) guys desperately crave: "game." Unfortunately, the duo is on the brink of being forced to waste two precious weeks of their "wild oats" season at football camp in Texas.
Their solution to this conundrum is perhaps a bit far-fetched, but admirably ambitious: instead of going to football camp, the two decide to go to cheer camp. The polar opposite of football camp, cheer camp is three weeks of double flips, high-flying acrobatics, cheering and as many make out and skinny-dipping sessions as the two can cram into their schedules. But Shawn soon makes the cardinal mistake of falling for one of the girls at the camp, complicating their less-than-admirable ends.
"Fired Up" is really nothing that hasn't been done to death - even in a teen movie. Stereotypes abound, as do a laundry list of overused clichés. In this particular genre, however, lightning can strike more than once, and for all its unoriginality, "Fired Up" is a lot of fun.
Perhaps a bit unscrupulous, Nick and Shawn are nonetheless two highly entertaining characters. Having worked out an extensive wingman system, the two use an intricate arrangement of football plays to extricate themselves from hazardous situations or to snag the next feminine target. The movie reveals a deeper side to each of the characters, making them a bit more likeable.
Though the movie naturally features a hearty stock of sexual innuendo and humor, "Fired Up" is not to be compared with more raunchy comedies like "Superbad" or "Knocked Up."
Another truly funny element of the film's narrative is how the two manage to change. By the time cheer camp is over, the previously macho combination have become quite fired up about winning the cheering competition and utilize acrobatic abilities to do things such as obtain out-of-reach items in the kitchen.
"Fired Up" is exactly what it advertises itself as in its previews, which makes it satisfying if nothing else. Nick and Shawn are certainly no Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin combo, but their smooth talking and wacky behavior are a source of numerous laughs. "Fired Up" is ultimately about as dumb as it is funny. But that's all a teen comedy really aspires to be in the first place, so that makes "Fired Up" a success.
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