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."
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."