'Bring it On:  "A smart, funny film worth cheering about " by Caitlin Cleary Seattle Times staff reporter The cheerleaders at Rancho Carne (Meat Ranch) High School are pretty, perky, sassy little sweatermonkeys, with a winning tradition, a kick-butt routine and tons of cheer. Movie review Rating: * * * "Bring It On," with Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, Gabrielle Union. Directed by Peyton Reed, from a screenplay by Jessica Bendinger. 95 minutes. Several theaters. "PG-13" - Parents strongly cautioned because of sex-related material and language.  Spunky yet vulnerable Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) is the Toros' newly elected captain. Even though her parents want her to focus on school, she cares about cheering more than anything else, and as well she should. The Toros' football team stinks; it's the cheerleaders that rule the school, and the Toros are headed toward their sixth national competitive cheerleading championship. But wait, one of the cheerleaders breaks her leg during the team's first practice and suddenly the team's easy road to cheer-domination doesn't look so smooth. "Bring It On" is a movie about two rival cheerleading squads in Southern California, but don't fret. It's not a fluffy, sugarcoated movie for 12-year-olds. And it's not a derisive, cutting movie for people who hate cheerleaders. Instead, "Bring It On" is a surprisingly funny, sharp and good-natured comedy starring an actress who's good enough to actually make you like a teeny girl with pompoms and really good hair. So anyway, the Toros still need a cheerleader to replace their fallen comrade. Into the tryouts walks Missy Pantone (Eliza Dushku), a cynical, tough girl transferred in from L.A. who happens to have a super-cute brother, Cliff (Jesse Bradford). The fur flies when Missy encounters nasty cheerleaders Courtney and Whitney (aren't nasty cheerleaders always named that?). "Tattoos are strictly forboden," one of them says archly. But Missy blows them away with her jumps and flips, and joins the squad. The movie jumps along, dialogue full of hilarious cheer-lingo. During a game, when Torrance smiles flirtatiously at Missy's brother Cliff in the bleachers while she cheers, her teammates scold her. "You were having cheer-sex with him!" they gasp. The movie's plot never strays from predictable inter- and intra-squad rivalries. But someone here is paying attention to the details, and they get a lot right. One scene in "Bring It On" is particularly good: Torrance sleeps over at Missy's house and spies Cliff, jamming on his electric guitar in his room, The Clash posters papering the walls. How much cooler is he than Aaron, Torrance's Ken-doll boyfriend off at college (Richard Hillman), who has Matchbox 20 posters on his wall? As if! Later, Cliff and Torrance meet at the bathroom sink. They brush their teeth, having a sly spitting contest and flirting through the foam. Oh, those sleepovers, fraught with such tension and meaning! The acting in "Bring It On" is OK, but Kirsten Dunst is the standout. Her Torrance is so likable, she can pick her nose and still look cute. She has boys writing songs for her, but manages to stay sympathetic and vulnerable, and her energy is fun to watch, not annoying. Also of note: Torrance's brother Justin (Cody McMains) is perhaps the best kid brother since Justin Henry, Molly Ringwald's four-foot-nothing little punk sibling in "Sixteen Candles." You just want to reach out and give him a smack. In the end, the Toros compete against the Clovers in the national competition. The movie starts getting a little out of hand with the slo-mo shots of skirts twirling, cheerleaders grinning so hard their eyes disappear, but it's all in good fun. At its best moments, "Bring It On" is a smart, funny ode to happiness, fair play and Girl Power.