User Reviews

***SPOILERS*** It when high school cheerleader Ruth Gayle, Brigitta Dau, was publicly humiliated when star high school football quarterback Josh Kelly, Lochlyn Munro, got a little touchy feely and stuck his hands up her dress while riding the school bus. It's Ruth's best friend Krista Wilson, Sarah Chalke, who tried to get action by seeing the school principle and ended up together with her family getting the worst of it instead. Banding together with his fellow football players and their friend Josh now targeted Krista for his uncontrolled sexual urges by grabbing on to her private parts in the girls locker room no less as well as every chance he got, in and out of school, and making her life miserable in the process.

it's when Krista's mom Mrs. Ann Wilson,Shanna Reed, the school's guidance counselor tried to get justice for her daughter she ended up getting suspended from her job in return. The worst that happened is that Ruth that Krista was defending turned against her due to pressure from the school's big wigs. That making her case against Josh's sexual harassment a moot point as well as showing her up, to those who didn't know any better, as a bald faced liar. It was when Josh & Co. overplayed their hand by attacking Krista's dad family restaurant, that serves the best burgers in town, that turned things around in Krista's favor.

****SPOILERS**** With the Wilson's back against the wall it was Josh's brainless actions, in trying to strong arm them to drop the case against him, that in the end did him in. With her fellow cheerleader now coming to her aid, including Ruth, has Krista lawyer, Teryl Rothery, bring an iron clad case of sexual harassment as well as illegal use of hands against Josh and his fellow skirt chaser football running back Nelson, Kirby Morrow, that would suspend them from playing football as well as chasing skirts for the entire season. This all shows when standing up to bullies it's the bullies who break rank and run when the heat is turned on them. It also shows that people defending the bullies and skirt chasers like football coach Peaters,Garry Chalk, and school principle Vicky Cooke,Gwynyth Walsh, will end up getting the shaft not rewarded for doing it!

The subject matter really drew me in. The cast did a superb job. (Those cheerleaders were GREAT, all of them!) Yet this film possesses the same basic problem as most other Moment Of Truth Movies...it's tame where it should be gritty and routine where it should be novel.

Case in point: the whole bit with Kyle Wilson, the cheer-captain's younger brother, who is torn between his teammates (who introduce him to slam books and worse) and his family (who berate him for turning against his own sister). Kyle goes "over to the Dark Side and back" too fast; there's no chance to get involved with his plight. His entire story arc is the picture's most original, by far...but it gets abandoned too quickly, and too soon, in favor of relatively-familiar material. There's also too little insight into the jocks' sexist behavior.

As with other Moment Of Truth Movies I have seen, it would have been better if the producers had pushed the envelope more...like increasing Kyle's rift with his elder sister and their parents, until they pull him off the team and send him to military school, where he goes cheerfully (to be rid of them)...and/or having "Mom" Wilson not only fired by the school but raped by the jocks, which lands her in the hospital AND causes "Dad" Wilson to publicly assault the leading jock, which lands him in jail...basically, something to better help Kyle see his teammates' true colors and patch things up with his big sis (after all their parents could think to do had failed).

Anybody agree with this?