Fired Up!

If you're looking to raise your Intelligence Quotient a few points, you're probably not going to want to devote much time to "Fired Up!" (if anything, you're likely to LOSE a few points if you commit yourself to watching it). If, however, you're in the market for an endearingly mindless, good-natured sex romp, then you could do a whole lot worse than this low-budget teen-movie parody, written by Freedom Jones and directed by Will Gluck and featuring a cast of high-spirited youngsters who make up for in energy what they lack in marquee-name value.

Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen play two high school football jocks who are clearly more concerned with scoring off the field than on. To that end, they sign up for a cheerleader camp where they'll have all the hot young babes they could possibly want just for the asking. Before you know it, however, along with perfecting their lifts and splits, the two horny lads have discovered a sensitive, caring side to their personalities that they never knew existed before.

There isn't much to be said about "Fired Up!" except that it manages to be racy without being raunchy, inane without being flat-out stupid. Indeed, in the final analysis, it's the open-hearted innocence and lack of smarm that make this one enjoyable.

I remember when I first saw the trailer for this teen comedy flick a couple years ago I thought I'd never ever watch it in my life. Little did I know it was actually quite entertaining and funny. The TV spots were even more disadvantageous to my cinematic tastes. Even so, it was recommended to me by a fellow movie buff, so I gave it a peek.

Fired Up! starts out at a fictitious high school in Illinois. Ironically the mascot for the team is the same as my high school alma mater, the Tigers. Although it didn't take place at the same high school in Illinois, the field and school logo resembled some nostalgia. This film is basically about two popular high school football players that have the bright idea to attend cheerleader camp. "2 guys. 300 girls. You do the math." Not knowing what they're in for, they actually end up having feelings for two of the cheerleaders and enjoy cheering. I know, it sounds kinda like a romantic comedy at this point, but it's really not. Throughout the movie the two jocks crack jokes and seduce girls at an alarming rate. It's quite entertaining really.

Nicholas D'Agosto plays the dark-haired fellow named Shawn Colfax. He's appeared in several small TV roles and more recently in movies. I'm most familiar with him being Hunter from NBC's The Office, who is Jan's receptionist (Michael Scott's boss at the time). Haha that musical CD his character had during the Dinner Party episode was hilarious. D'Agosto will also be appearing in Final Destination 5 this August. The trailer looks pretty cool. I thought D'Agosto did a fine job in Fired Up!.

The other blonde-haired jock is played by Eric Christian Olsen, his character's name is Nick Brady. He's most notably from 2001′s Not Another Teen Movie where he plays "The Cocky Blonde Guy." Makes sense.

The director of Fired Up! is Will Gluck. Although I have never seen it and probably should (probably cause it's a rom-com), he directed Easy A, starring Emma Stone. He also directed Friends With Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, which comes out next Friday, July 22nd.

Overall I thought this movie was great for our generation of Millennials. As unfortunate as it may be we grew up with MTV and silly slap-stick raunchy comedies. I can totally understand why the critics gave it a bad rap. As reluctant as I am to rate it a "Four Star Rating," it will only be getting a six. The acting was sloppy and the only thing that kept me interested at times was all the cheerleading eye-candy.

6/10 Stars.

Kudos to the casting agents for this one -- it's fun and lively and moves along steadily to the predictable happy ending, but along the way the dialogue is snappy, witty, and oddly believable. Why so? Hard to believe, but it was the great chemistry of the two bromantic leads! They play off each other perfectly, and because they're sharply versed with each other, it's instantly believable that they're also sharply-witted with others. It's rare to have the sex-hungry jock teens be intelligent too (smart jocks? Who'd buy that?), yet it works! I bought it, I laughed (a lot!) and I never reached a point where I thought the lead characters had stepped to a point of groan-ness. So kudos to the casting, and the lead actors themselves -- should the chance happen again, I'd gladly see another comedy with these two -- they make a good 'bro' pair.

This movie did not intrigue me at all when it was first announced and I waited until it came out on DVD until I saw it. But overall it was an enjoyable funny teen comedy with hilarious moments. Fired Up is basically your typical teen movie with high school jocks obsessed with hooking up with hot high school girls. Ignoring the cliché plot, the two leads of the movie in Nick D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen are a great pair. There are definitely some lines in the film that you will have quoting after watching and hot teenage girls in cheer leading uniforms can never be a bad thing. Sarah Roemer is absolutely stunning and not a bad actor to boot. Go check this low budget comedy out for the laughs

You take the cheerleading clips from Bring It On and the typical "let's get laid" plot from American Pie, you get Fired Up.

It starts off the same as a typical raunchy comedy about two jocks just trying to get laid as much as they can. When Nick (Eric Christian Olsen) and Shawn (Nicholas D'Agosto) decide to go to cheer camp instead of football camp, they find themselves with three hundred horny girls and their entire world turned-upside-down.

Shawn falls for Carly (Sarah Roemer; recognized from Disturbia) and Nick falls for Diora (Molly Sims), who is married to the leader of the camp. At the halfway point of the movie, the film turns over a new leaf, as well as Nick and Shawn, and becomes something more than your average teen comedy about sex and stupid jokes.

I laughed quite a bit more than I expected to when I saw the trailer for the movie. Bits shown in the trailer do not do the comedy of the film justice. It is so much more than just a comedy, as well, it's a warm tale that proves anyone can do anything if they just believe in themselves.

It's inspiring, laughable, fun and romantic all-in-one. Aside from some profanities and small nudity, it's for all audiences, I think.