The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)

I'm not sure that I actually saw this film at the drive-in, where movies like this were a constant staple, but I did see a few like it. All of them seemed to have on goal in mind, to take the tops off of eager young women. At least that's the only thing I thought they were about back then. I found most poorly made and boring. But in watching this one I was surprised that there was actually a decent movie here although one made with a nearly non-existent budget.The story here revolves around the cheerleading squad at Mesa State. Kate (Jo Johnston) is the reporter for an underground newspaper on campus (face it all universities had them in the late 60s/early 70s). To get the gritty on the cheerleaders and how they are being taken advantage of by the team and alumni she goes undercover and becomes one of them. What she doesn't count on is discovering that they are just normal young women like here and that not all of the jocks are the jerks she assumed they were.She also didn't consider the fact she might find love with star quarterback Buck Larson (Ron Hajek). Buck is already involved with the head cheerleader Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) whose father is the most influential member of the alumni around. To cross her might mean the end of his scholarship. But this isn't the worst of the problems faced here.There is cheerleader Lisa who is romantically involved with her Professor Thorpe, her math teacher. They two plan to run off together as soon as he divorces his wife. Then there is Andrea, a virginal young cheerleader who can't quite seem to commit to a sexual involvement with her boyfriend who she dearly loves. We are also presented with a problem involving Thorpe, Mary Ann's father and the coach who are gambling on the team to make big bucks, so much so that the coach is willing to throw the game to advance their position.Kate's editor is a pot smoking radical who wants to do nothing less that stick it to "the man". When she begins to see that things aren't what they thought he doesn't take kindly to her new viewpoint. When Andrea goes to the newspaper's office to talk to her she's not there but he is. Taking out his frustration he rapes Andrea.The feminist viewpoints on display here, the sexual revolution that discusses both end of the scale from random sex to commitment, the discovery that the "straights" aren't as straight as thought and the "radicals" aren't nearly as progressive as they pain themselves all combine here to make an honest to goodness movie rather than a simple T&A drive-in flick. Yes, some of the jokes fall flat and are corny, yes the sets leave much to be desired at times, yes the acting ranges from solid to ludicrous but in the end the movie ends up being, well, a decent little movie. It has an actual story even if it is dropped down the most simplistic possible. But when you're shooting a movie in 12 days intended to do more than titillate teens what do you expect? That something good came from that is the most amazing thing.The Arrow Video release of this film is jam packed with goodies, like almost everything they are bringing out on blu-ray these days. I've hailed them for their quality product time and again and this time is no different. The movie looks beautiful on screen using the best possible print they could find. Extras include an audio commentary track with director Jack Hill made just for this release, a brand new interview with director Jack Hill, an archive interview with cinematographer Alfred Taylor, an archive interview with Jack Hill and Johnny Legend, a Q&A with Hill and actors Colleen Camp and Roseanne Katon recorded at the New Beverly Cinema in 2012, TV spots and a reversible sleeve featuring artwork by Graham Humphreys.If you have fond memories of going to the drive-in then by all means you'll want to add this one to your collection. It turns out to be more fun than you would expect and a better movie than most in the genre offer.

A feminist type writer goes undercover to expose what goes on in the cheerleading squad, but ends up siding with the group.I didn't really like this movie. I didn't like the characters or the story. I think the one subplot that interested me was the student having an affair with a professor, but it got the least time.I did like the fact that the newspaper editor who was supposed to be progressive was actually slimy, while the football player who was supposed to be dumb was actually a nice guy. I don't really remember how it ended, but it probably had to do with the administrator and coach getting busted for trying to rig the big game for their own benefit.Uninteresting and forgettable. And the people in the movie were really ugly, too.

Special credit must go to the ever-surprising and enterprising Jack Hill for making the single most wickedly subversive film in the popular 70's cheerleader sub-genre. Sure, it certainly delivers the prerequisite ample doses of silly slapstick humor and tasty sex and gratuitous nudity, but along with that sleazy stuff we also have a remarkably astute critique of gender roles and sexual stereotypes as well as a deliciously sly and playful sense of anarchic humor.Sassy Mesa University underground newspaper reporter Kate (winningly played by lovely brunette sprite Jo Johnston) decides to pose as a cheerleader in order to get the straight dope for an article on "female exploitation in contemporary society." Kate soon discovers that there's much more to being a cheerleader than just sexy short skirts and fluffy pom-poms. They're actually troubled individuals with serious issues: Sweet Rainbeaux Smith is a frustrated virgin who's eager to learn more about sex, Colleeen Camp is a snotty, stuck-up rich bitch who always gets what she wants, and Rosanne Katon ("Playboy" 's September '78 Playmate of the Month) is having an affair with a married college professor. The seemingly cocky and sexist star football player turns out to be a nice, sensitive guy and the allegedly radical hippie college newspaper editor ultimately gets exposed as a hypocritical misogynistic phony. Moreover, both the shady campus dean and the duplicitous football coach are involved in a numbers racket. Wow, talk about campus unrest! Besides the unusually sound plot and provocative political subtext (both very rare and welcome qualities in the often schlocky and strictly superficial cheerleader sub-genre), "The Swinging Cheerleaders" further boasts a wonderfully lush'n'plush look, uniformly solid acting, nifty policeman bits by crusty character actor John Quade and veteran Hollywood stuntman Bob Minor (who also popped up in "Coffy," "Foxy Brown" and "Switchblade Sistors" for Jack Hill), and a hilariously wild'n'wacky slapstick finale. Clips from this gem are featured in the acclaimed Errol Morris documentary "The Thin Blue Line."

A feminist reporter (Jo Johnston) who wants to write an exposé on how cheerleading degrades women decides to infiltrate the cheerleading squad. Once accepted, she realizes that the cheerleaders aren't bad and finds out that the football games are rigged. She also falls for the team's quarterback (Ron Hajek), and this does not sit well with his girlfriend - the head cheerleader (Colleen Camp).Semi follow-up to 1973's "The Cheerleaders" is a disappointment. Too many subplots, amateurish performances and writing ruin this loser. Directed by Jack Hill ("Coffy," "Foxy Brown"). My evaluation: * out of ****.