Fired Up!

Fired Up’s stars, Nichols D’Agostino and Eric Christian Olsen, easily can be described (and even dismissed) as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn wannabes, but they do have a certain charm that makes Fired Up better than you expect.

D’Agostino and Olsen star as Shawn and Nick – the two most popular guys in high school, where they star on the football team and “date” every female student body. However, they are running out of conquests, and not looking forward to the two week football camp in El Paso (no girls and lots of hot hot sun), when an escape plan occurs to them.

The school’s cheerleading team is going to a three week cheerleading camp, and none of the 300 or so women there know anything about Shawn and Nick, so they come up with a plan to get on the cheerleading squad, even though the captain, Carly (Sarah Roemer), is certain this is just another hormone-driven plan by two shallow boys.

Will they be able to accomplish their mission of “dating” as many of the cheerleaders as possible?

Will Carly start to appreciate these two charming scoundrels?

Will Shawn and Nick start to enjoy cheering and help the team win the big competition?

Have you already figured out the answer to each of those clichés?

Yes, Fired Up is a crazy, teen sex comedy infused with the spirit of The Wedding Crashers, Animal House or Caddyshack, and it might not be as good as any of those (even though it does borrow from many similar movies), but director Will Gluck and writer Freedom Jones throw in enough smart references and funny moments to elevate the movie to a level above mediocre. It might not be original, but Fired Up makes you laugh.

In between the homosexuality jokes, silly overacting, extreme sexual suggestions at each turn and every character being just a bit too dumb to live, Gluck and Jones find ways to mock the movie they are making, and D’Agostino and Olsen are more than capable enough to play along and get you to giggle. They share a good camaraderie, know how to show the bravado of two fast talking guys who usually get what they want, but also excel as Shawn and Nick go through the inevitable life changing moments.

Fired Up gets too wrapped up in the obvious plot twists you can see coming from a mile and a half away, and you might get a good laugh out of pointing each one out as it pops up in the movie, but you can’t deny it has something going for it.

Fired Up is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, partial nudity, language and some teen partying.