DVD Review: Swinging Cheerleaders, The (B)

Swinging Cheerleaders, The (1974)
Directed by Jack Hill
Starring Jo Johnston, Colleen Camp, Ron Hajek, Rosanne Katon
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Review by Bobby Nashville

Jo Johnston stars as Kate, a campus radical that is hell bent on exposing the political and social exploitation that she senses are going on at her school. She decides to infiltrate the cheerleading squad in an attempt to uncover the horrible conditions and treatment that she feels these girls are subject to. Her pot smoking left wing boyfriend pushes her along and she decides to write an expose called "The Swinging Cheerleaders". What she finds however is that all of the cheerleaders love their work and that they don't feel exploited in any way. Her transformation becomes complete as she falls for the teams starting quarterback.

The Swinging Cheerleaders is extremely dated, of course, as the attitude and dialogue seem steeped in Nixon era paranoia. The clothing (hippy wear and cheerleader garb) fill out the mise en scene nicely and you can always count on Jack Hill to keep his films moving along nicely. In other words, you won't be bored for a minute.

Exploitation king Jack Hill directed this after the Pam Grier blaxploitation classic Coffy but before his girl gang masterpiece Switchblade Sisters. Full of camp value, The Swinging Cheerleaders has a lot going for it. However, if you are looking for a racy sexploitation movie, this one will probably disappoint you a bit. Its more full of laughs than racy behavior. Rent this one if you are in the mood for a light hearted sexploitation film that is easy to digest.

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