Cheer! (2008)

GIMME A B...PLUS! Kate Torgovnick followed three college cheerleading squads for a season in the sometime repetitive but often compelling Cheer!

Fans of Bring It On will find much to cheer about in Kate Torgovnick's meticulously reported account of the often-mocked but fascinating world of cheerleading. Following three different college cheer teams over a season, Torgovnick offers some not-so-shocking revelations (injuries and eating disorders are frequent) as well as a few true surprises: Most male cheerleaders, she reports, are staunchly heterosexual (''In fact, it's a culture of manly men — the kind who lift weights, drink beer, and butt heads''). While Cheer! can be repetitive — enough with the human pyramids! — it's compelling and definitely worthy of a herkie. B+