Eat/ Sleep/ Cheer/ Repeat – Film Review
by Frank L

Directed by Tanya Doyle

One of the virtues of documentary filmmaking is that it can investigate activities that are the centre of individuals’ everyday lives but not part of the mainstream. These activities rarely make the headlines but they are fundamental to those that are involved with them. Recent examples of this include Making the Grade (2017) and Million Dollar Pigeons (2022). What they all have in common is an outside standard against which the activity is measured. In Tanya Doyle’s odyssey, it is for the team of cheerleaders to qualify for the “Worlds” in Florida. If they get there, their aim is to try to place in the top ten. That is the dream; that is the goal. The odds are stacked against them.

The team is Team Ireland and it is based in Galway. It consists of a group of teenagers of both sexes but primarily girls. The activity of cheerleading requires a variety of skills which include gymnastics, dance, collaboration and self-discipline. But also that indefinable quality of being a part of a team and achieving something thereby greater than what an individual can. Doyle digs into the challenges that these young athletes face as they pursue their common goal.

There are many positives about these individuals and their aspirations. Cheerleading is an athletic pursuit, but one that includes both sexes and where the emphasis is on teamwork. Such an activity needs a driving force and that is provided by Hilton, the team coach. He truly eats, sleeps and dreams Cheer. He is an inspirational coach and provides that indefinable quality of leadership. However, the stars of the film are the teenagers who joyously turn up for innumerable training sessions so that they become a talented troupe. These individuals are no automatons. They have their own personal issues such as girls discussing a relationship with a boyfriend, a gay boy finding freedom to be himself in the team and an anti-vaxer sticking to her beliefs. Each of them comes from families who are also diverse. It is a joyous celebration of young people coming together and discovering each other while participating in a challenging activity. Perhaps one concern is the importance of make-up in their lives but that may be a criticism of a very mature observer.

In the world of cheerleaders, Team Ireland is a minnow but that gives them strength. They come together and manage to get to Florida and they live their dream. This is a feel-good movie and Doyle shows us a group of inspirational young people. With so many challenges facing adolescents today, here is a film which shows what inclusive teamwork can achieve. They are a group of teenagers who accept each other for who they are. It is uplifting. It is heartwarming. It makes you smile.