Bring It On writer Jessica Bendinger marked her directorial debut with gymnastics dramedy Stick It, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary today.

Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym), a rebellious former elite gymnast, is forced back into the sport after a legal incident. Once a rising star, Haley walked out of the World Championships, costing her team gold and damaging her reputation. Sent to train at the Vickerman Gymnastics Academy, the 17-year-old gymnast clashes with strict coach Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) and struggles with the rigid system she resents, even as her natural talent remains undeniable.

At an invitational meet, Haley begins to rediscover her abilities but grows frustrated with a judging system that prioritizes minor deductions over difficulty and expression. Pressured by her domineering mother (Gia Carides) and haunted by her past, Haley falters mid-competition and walks out again, later revealing to Vickerman that family turmoil drove her original exit from Worlds.

Returning to train for Nationals, Haley and her teammates—including Joanne Charis (Vanessa Lengies), Mina Hoyt (Maddy Curley), and Wei Wei Yong (Nikki SooHoo)—confront the sport’s flaws head-on. After unfair scoring decisions over the unintentional display of Mina’s bra strap, they stage a coordinated protest by scratching events, forcing judges to reconsider outcomes. Haley ultimately delivers a standout floor routine, and with fellow gymnasts joining her defiance, the competition becomes a symbolic rebellion—one that reshapes her future and restores her love for gymnastics.

I first saw Stick It a few months after it opened in theaters, and it’s the type of film that belongs in the comfort rewatch rotation—even if those rewatches have been few and far between in what’s become an IP-driven world. In a different universe, maybe it would have made more money at the box office. But for what writer-director Jessica Bendinger was seeking to do with the film, I found myself entertained. Plus, it inspired Holly Sorensen to create the gymnastics series Make It or Break It for what is now Freeform.

While I aspire to keep up with gymnastics every year, the reality is that I’m one of those fans who mainly watches the sport every four years—during the U.S. Olympic Trials and again during the Olympics themselves. On a personal note, it’s exciting to know that the 2028 U.S. Olympic Trials will be held in my hometown, but I digress. The fact that Stick It focuses on a teen gymnast is what initially piqued my interest in watching it twenty years ago.

As far as Stick It goes, the film leans into realism. It’s not the type of sports film aiming for prestige, and that’s perfectly okay—it doesn’t need to be an Oscar nominee for me to enjoy it. Where the film succeeds is in portraying the intensity of the gymnastics training environment. Mind you, this film came out less than a decade before an elite gymnast went public about the abuse she faced during training, with others following shortly thereafter. Knowing that now, one can’t help but wonder what a film like this would look like today.

What makes Stick It stand out is how it frames control versus self-expression within the sport. Haley’s frustration isn’t just about authority—it’s about a system that values conformity over individuality. The judging system becomes less about fairness and more about maintaining a specific image of what gymnastics should look like. In that sense, the film’s rebellious climax isn’t just for show; it’s a statement about athletes taking ownership of their performance in a sport that rarely allows it.

Missy Peregrym is phenomenal in the role, and you really feel for her character with everything she goes through. But as strong as she is, the film works best as an ensemble piece. At first, it seems like Haley will never get along with Joanne, but later on, Joanne is excited about attending prom with one of Haley’s friends and ultimately joins Haley in rebelling against the scoring system.

Stick It wouldn’t be a gymnastics film without its many cameos: Tim Daggett, Elfi Schlegel, Bart Conner, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Valeri Liukin, Mohini Bhardwaj, Allana Slater, Yang Yun, and Stephanie Moorhouse. It really captures what the gymnastics world looked like twenty years ago. Carly Patterson was just two years removed from winning the all-around gold at the 2004 Olympics, and Nastia Liukin would follow in her footsteps in 2008. Tim Daggett made his ninth appearance as an NBC Olympics gymnastics analyst during the 2024 Paris Games, while Elfi Schlegel has not worked for NBC since 2012. Meanwhile, Bart Conner now calls meets for ESPN.

Twenty years later, Stick It is still nailing the landing.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jessica Bendinger
CAST: Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym, Vanessa Lengies, Jon Gries, Gia Carides, Julie Warner, Annie Corley, Polly Holliday, John Kapelos, Kellan Lutz, Svetlana Efremova, John Patrick Amedori, Nikki SooHoo, Maddy Curley, Lee Garlington

Touchstone Pictures released Stick It in theaters on April 28, 2006. Grade: 4/5

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