I attended the school(s) at which this movie was made. THE POM POM GIRLS was filmed at the two (junior and senior high school) campuses of Chaminade College Preparatory (in Chatsworth and West Hills (née Canoga Park), California). At the time of filming the production went by a far less sensational title (PALISADES HIGH, I believe), and the administrators of the fund-grubbing Catholic school were excited to have a movie lensed on their properties. Interiors and exteriors were shot at both campuses, and I attended classes in the rooms shown in the movie. Believe me, it's weird and wonderful (and a bit sad) to look back in time, watching this movie and reminding myself of what it was like to grow up during the 1970s and go to (this particular) school. THE POM POM GIRLS is certainly not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, and it outraged the school PTA when it was released as a tits&ass, soft-core, teensploitation flick (the school was under the impression it was going to be a lot cleaner and more meaningful...HA!). But I have a strange fondness for this movie, as difficult as it can be to sit through for its sheer inanity. The film does succeed on one level, however. Every decade has its share of "teen" oriented movies showing kids misbehaving, falling in love, getting into trouble, etc. These films manage to depict popular culture of the time perhaps better than any other genre film. THE POM POM GIRLS captures that slice-of-life of the 1970s as well as any other film from that era I know of. And at the same time idealize it to mythic proportions. I can honestly say I didn't have nearly as good a time in high school as the characters do in this film -- I only wish I had! -- but I did observe other kids leading this sort of lifestyle -- skipping class and driving to Malibu or wherever...getting high in the backs of vans...and being promiscuous. If I had it all to do over again...(sigh). Incidentally, the mud-pit scene in the movie was a ritual which took place annually at the Chaminade high school campus as part of a week long initiation (seniors versus sophomores). By the time I became a sophomore (a year after this film was made), the mud pit had been done away with -- rumor has it someone put broken glass in the pit and injuries occurred. As the saying goes, it's all fun and games until someone gets a fork in the eye... And that's what THE POM POM GIRLS feels like: all the fun and games that happened *right before* someone got that fork in the eye. THE POM POM GIRLS is not a good movie, but it's an entertaining "drive-in" flick -- excellent to "make out" to. As a genre film it appears loosely based on the Juvenile Delinquent films of the 50s and 60s but it lacks The Message (moral) that pervades most of those films. Look at HOT RODS TO HELL (1967), for example, which was a morality play about youngsters living hard and fast ("for kicks, man!") and learning -- by the end of the film -- that smart-ass antics can result in tragedy. THE POM POM GIRLS, on the other hand, goes so far as to include a "Chicken Suicide Race" at the climax (lifted right out of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE), but even that's just a red-herring for another of Johnnie's pranks. Just when it looks like the film might have a message (and some real meaning) the rug is pulled out from under you. This results in a film that ultimately feels empty-headed, hedonistic, and shallow. "Carpe Diem" and all that. Consequently, a certain sweet sadness hangs over this movie -- you know that, sooner or later, Johnnie and his band of friends are going to face things like the draft, unwanted pregnancy, STDs, Real Life (including the unemployment line), etc. I still chuckle to myself about this film because it may lack significance to many, many people...except, perhaps, to all the teachers, parents, and Marianist priests and brothers of Chaminade Prep whom it scandalized (hee hee hee!).
29 Reviews
The Pom Pom Girls
Scarecrow-887 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I have been falling in love with these drive-in movies after I started watching them last year. I picked up the various box sets which included so many Crown International releases featuring the hi-jinx of high school kids, living it up like there's no tomorrow, enjoying their youth before adulthood would rear it's ugly head spoiling the fun forever.
I think "The Pom Pom Girls", which really isn't about cheerleaders despite how the title and opening credits might fool you into thinking so, is just another example of this. It's about kids in their senior year of high school, having a grand old time, making out, guzzling beer(I love the scene where Robert Carradine scores a six-pack from a gas station by appealing to the owner's mercy for not embarrassing him regarding being held back two years! Hey, whatever works!), disrupting class, goofing off in their fast cars, and other such general teenage shenanigans. I was not the kind of teenager who acted so crazy and spontaneous as these kids, so my stimuli is enhanced through the experiences of these characters who weren't thinking about long-term careers or life after high school, and I believe "The Pom Pom Girls" does in fact capture that moment in time where, when we were young, weren't concerned with such things.
I wasn't a 70's teen, but I imagine it must've been mighty fun living during that specific time..to be honest, "The Pom Pom Girls" doesn't have a plot to speak of, really just a series of events leading up to a race of suicidal chicken over a chick between Carradine, who is just a charming, unpredictable, reckless rascal, and Bill Adler who must've been in 20 of these movies in the 70's.
This is the restored R-rated version, featuring some nudity, particularly a locker room undressing where the cheerleader girls are changing. The late Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith has a minor role as, you guessed it, a cheerleader, who has a make-out session with football jock hunk Michael Mullins. A great deal of the movie has Carradine and Adler at each other all the time over Jennifer Ashley, including a food fight and two laughable skirmishes which shows neither is much of a brawler. Mullins and his high school coach, played by James Gammon, are often at each other's throats..neither likes the other and this plays out at the end when the kid slugs his coach, but somehow escapes both unscathed and with the upper hand. While making out numerous times with a pretty blond car hop, Mullins eyes Lisa Reeves, who, of course, at first rejects his advances, soon falling for him as all the other girls usually do that drool over such dudes.
I think I prefer these kinds of movies that are virtually plot-less because that seems to be how teenage life was back then, not quite dwelling on the up and coming future, just concerned for "the here and now." My only real complaint is that Cheryl Smith is treated as an afterthought and doesn't factor in the plot really at all..she could've been the potential love interest for a rejected Adler, so that he could've been granted a reprieve, because, by and large, the guy isn't that bad, he just wasn't very happy with losing his girl(who would be?).
I think "The Pom Pom Girls", which really isn't about cheerleaders despite how the title and opening credits might fool you into thinking so, is just another example of this. It's about kids in their senior year of high school, having a grand old time, making out, guzzling beer(I love the scene where Robert Carradine scores a six-pack from a gas station by appealing to the owner's mercy for not embarrassing him regarding being held back two years! Hey, whatever works!), disrupting class, goofing off in their fast cars, and other such general teenage shenanigans. I was not the kind of teenager who acted so crazy and spontaneous as these kids, so my stimuli is enhanced through the experiences of these characters who weren't thinking about long-term careers or life after high school, and I believe "The Pom Pom Girls" does in fact capture that moment in time where, when we were young, weren't concerned with such things.
I wasn't a 70's teen, but I imagine it must've been mighty fun living during that specific time..to be honest, "The Pom Pom Girls" doesn't have a plot to speak of, really just a series of events leading up to a race of suicidal chicken over a chick between Carradine, who is just a charming, unpredictable, reckless rascal, and Bill Adler who must've been in 20 of these movies in the 70's.
This is the restored R-rated version, featuring some nudity, particularly a locker room undressing where the cheerleader girls are changing. The late Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith has a minor role as, you guessed it, a cheerleader, who has a make-out session with football jock hunk Michael Mullins. A great deal of the movie has Carradine and Adler at each other all the time over Jennifer Ashley, including a food fight and two laughable skirmishes which shows neither is much of a brawler. Mullins and his high school coach, played by James Gammon, are often at each other's throats..neither likes the other and this plays out at the end when the kid slugs his coach, but somehow escapes both unscathed and with the upper hand. While making out numerous times with a pretty blond car hop, Mullins eyes Lisa Reeves, who, of course, at first rejects his advances, soon falling for him as all the other girls usually do that drool over such dudes.
I think I prefer these kinds of movies that are virtually plot-less because that seems to be how teenage life was back then, not quite dwelling on the up and coming future, just concerned for "the here and now." My only real complaint is that Cheryl Smith is treated as an afterthought and doesn't factor in the plot really at all..she could've been the potential love interest for a rejected Adler, so that he could've been granted a reprieve, because, by and large, the guy isn't that bad, he just wasn't very happy with losing his girl(who would be?).
Guaranteed to cheer you up.
BA_Harrison26 January 2013
After a long hot summer, it's back to school for the students of Rosedale High, where an impending football game against arch rivals Hardin leads to a series of high-spirited pranks carried out by Rosedale's star players Jesse and Johnnie (Michael Mullins and Robert Carradine) and members of the sexy cheer-leading squad, the feisty pom pom shakers including lovely brunette Laurie (Jennifer Ashley) and pretty blonde Sally (Lisa Reeves).
The Pom Pom Girls is a fairly typical slice of 70s teenage drive-in fodder, full of hot girls and hunky guys whose lives mainly revolve around their cars and who they're canoodling with in the back seat. It's clichéd and predictable stuff but achieves a certain lackadaisical charm thanks to an amiable cast and a suitably inconsequential approach to its plot—as the viewer, we have no idea where we're being taken, but we're still happy to go along for the ride.
The Pom Pom Girls is a fairly typical slice of 70s teenage drive-in fodder, full of hot girls and hunky guys whose lives mainly revolve around their cars and who they're canoodling with in the back seat. It's clichéd and predictable stuff but achieves a certain lackadaisical charm thanks to an amiable cast and a suitably inconsequential approach to its plot—as the viewer, we have no idea where we're being taken, but we're still happy to go along for the ride.
Definitely worth a watch
stevenfallonnyc8 November 2002
"The Pom Pom Girls" is more about the two guys on the football team (one being the great Robert Carradine, always a blast to watch) and the antics they lead the girls into, whether it's making out, stealing a fire truck, causing grief for the rival school, and other assorted tomfoolery. Unlike many other movies of the type, this one is actually interesting and fun to watch, and even the cheesy early 70's music they chose for the movie is decent and adds to the atmosphere. And the girls are rather pretty as well. And for car lovers there's a lot of cool old cars to see, especially Carradine's '55 Chevy (there always seems to be a '55 Chevy in so many of these films). Definitely a good showcase of when life was more carefree and a lot less complicated. Nice to even have it on DVD, although a widescreen release would have been better than fullscreen.
Wanna see the inside of my van?
Chase_Witherspoon13 April 2012
"American Graffiti" styled high school comedy-drama concerns a couple of knockabout gridion players (Carradine and Mullins) wooing the affections of a pair of lusty young cheerleaders (Ashley and Reeves), much to the chagrin of Reeve's jilted ex-boyfriend (Adler) who eventually challenges Carradine to a game of chicken (a la Harrison Ford). In between, there's plenty of sex, misdemeanors and practical joking to make up the school day.
Seemingly endless array of practical jokes is punctuated by heavy-petting with Susie Player getting the most exposure as the hamburger joint waitress, while the pretty Jennifer Ashley (who had a relatively brief but memorable filmography in the mid-70's through early-80's) has her moment or two sans blouse. She's given little else to do, and that's no different to the rest of the cast in a film that contains very little dialogue. Bill Adler is an interesting specimen, playing a tough-talking cuckold whose bravado is only skin deep. He at least manages to evoke some sympathy whereas Carradine simply comes off looking like an arrogant twerp. Film buffs might also recognise Rainbeaux Smith in a frivolous minor role as one of the cheerleaders.
Vintage cars with enhanced mufflers, obscure mid-70's soundtrack, over-the-top food fights and a couple of genuine laughs (Mullins is caught leaving Ashley's house the morning after by her dad who invites him back inside for breakfast, and, the cheerleader auditions) liven proceedings, but the pace is terminal and the content lacking. Vaguely nostalgic, but essentially it's a show about nothing.
Seemingly endless array of practical jokes is punctuated by heavy-petting with Susie Player getting the most exposure as the hamburger joint waitress, while the pretty Jennifer Ashley (who had a relatively brief but memorable filmography in the mid-70's through early-80's) has her moment or two sans blouse. She's given little else to do, and that's no different to the rest of the cast in a film that contains very little dialogue. Bill Adler is an interesting specimen, playing a tough-talking cuckold whose bravado is only skin deep. He at least manages to evoke some sympathy whereas Carradine simply comes off looking like an arrogant twerp. Film buffs might also recognise Rainbeaux Smith in a frivolous minor role as one of the cheerleaders.
Vintage cars with enhanced mufflers, obscure mid-70's soundtrack, over-the-top food fights and a couple of genuine laughs (Mullins is caught leaving Ashley's house the morning after by her dad who invites him back inside for breakfast, and, the cheerleader auditions) liven proceedings, but the pace is terminal and the content lacking. Vaguely nostalgic, but essentially it's a show about nothing.
Time waster
Leofwine_draca3 January 2016
THE POM POM GIRLS is your typical high school sex comedy: a group of young, sex-mad students are after various girls on the cheerleading team, while at the same time determined to have a good time. Their hijinks include stealing public vehicles and generally causing a nuisance, much to the consternation of the authorities.
There's little to distinguish this from the usual Crown International Pictures fare: there's the requisite nudity, limited to a couple of exploitational stripping/dressing sequences; the lowbrow humour; the occasional familiar face (this time around it's Robert Carradine) to make it feel like a 'proper' film. But at the same time, it has the usual problems of a Crown picture, namely poor scripting, an almost entire absence of funny jokes, poor acting, and a general forgettable atmosphere. It's not one to waste your time with - unless you were there and you're looking for a nostalgia kick.
There's little to distinguish this from the usual Crown International Pictures fare: there's the requisite nudity, limited to a couple of exploitational stripping/dressing sequences; the lowbrow humour; the occasional familiar face (this time around it's Robert Carradine) to make it feel like a 'proper' film. But at the same time, it has the usual problems of a Crown picture, namely poor scripting, an almost entire absence of funny jokes, poor acting, and a general forgettable atmosphere. It's not one to waste your time with - unless you were there and you're looking for a nostalgia kick.
Incredibly Boring
Uriah4328 November 2014
"Johnnie" (Robert Carradine) and "Jesse" (Michael Mullins) are two immature high school football players who are constantly in trouble for one thing or another. As it so happens they somehow manage to attract two cheerleaders named "Laurie" (Jennifer Ashley) and "Sally" (Lisa Reeves) to accompany them on several of their pranks. So much for the plot-if you can call it one-as this particular movie simply showcased one childish scene after the other with no letup in between. The dialogue was basic, the humor was absent and to top it off, other than possibly Susan Player (as "Sue Ann"), none of the actresses were all that pretty. Quite frankly the best part of this movie was the end as it contained a slight amount of suspense and after that I was able put this sordid mess behind me. That said I suppose I should at least be thankful for that. Accordingly, I rate this incredibly boring film as definitely below average.
Hurrah for the POM POM GIRLS!!!!
blackxmas8 November 2000
THE POM POM GIRLS was a huge sleeper hit in it's day and it's easy to see why. Thousands of stoned kids across the land with beer in hand at the drive-in, watching this documentary-like fun fest on being a high school kid in the mid-70's. What a wonderful life these kids have! Drive around drinking or high, get the girl, have sex where ever you want, and not worry about any diseases or repercussions whatsoever. And football. You get to play a lot of football.
I love this film. If you tried to make a movie like this today, you couldn't do it without some killjoy saying you couldn't have them drinking and driving. But kids do that. Some die and a majority don't. These kids are not repressed sexually. They are free to make love to whoever they choose and don't worry about death and condoms. They seem to be having fun and enjoying life, and that's why this film really couldn't be made today, because it shows people, teens especially, enjoying life in an innocent, yet rebellious, drug-addled, highly sexual way. Nobody dies, nobody gets hurt, and they do everything they were told they shouldn't do. It's a social time capsule for an extremely fun and liberated time.
I love this film. If you tried to make a movie like this today, you couldn't do it without some killjoy saying you couldn't have them drinking and driving. But kids do that. Some die and a majority don't. These kids are not repressed sexually. They are free to make love to whoever they choose and don't worry about death and condoms. They seem to be having fun and enjoying life, and that's why this film really couldn't be made today, because it shows people, teens especially, enjoying life in an innocent, yet rebellious, drug-addled, highly sexual way. Nobody dies, nobody gets hurt, and they do everything they were told they shouldn't do. It's a social time capsule for an extremely fun and liberated time.
What a terrible movie
Tug-315 March 2021
Does this even qualify as a "movie"? It's a series of barely connected scenes of teenagers doing random activities to a soft-rock soundtrack. It's more like a music video or a Coke ad than a feature-length film.
I just watched all seven hours of this movie and can remember only one character's name. Jesse. He's the one with the curly dark hair. Like all his friends, he's a jerk, plain and simple. He's constantly lying, whining, cheating, getting into fights, and guilting his idiot girlfriend into doing things she doesn't want to do.
Not one of the teenagers in this movie leads a normal high-school life. They are all belligerent and petty. They antagonize their teachers and coaches. They face no consequences for their nonstop shenanigans. You'd think that at least football would be important to the football players, especially considering the movie's title, but nope; in their first game, they immediately brawl with the opposing team.
All this would be fine if the movie was directed with madcap energy, like countless other tacky but fun horny teenager movies. Instead, Pom Pom Girls plods from scene to scene with no connective tissue or reason to care what happens to these people. At one point, some of the teens visit a motocross track and watch bemused for at least four minutes. We watch along with them. Look at those motorcycles go. Wow. Then the teens decide to rent motorcycles. They ride for a few minutes. Look at the fun they're having. The next scene involves Jesse deciding to go to the beach. What a plot!
You'd think that with a name like Pom Pom Girls, this movie would do at least one thing right. It's a 1970s exploitation film, after all. But nope. The few "sexy" scenes are ineptly paced and uncomfortable. Even the de rigueur locker room scene is off-putting; we watch in complete, creepy silence while several of the cheerleaders remove their tops and bottoms, and then one asks another to feel her breast to see whether she has a lump. Hot hot hot!
Not one of the teenagers in this movie leads a normal high-school life. They are all belligerent and petty. They antagonize their teachers and coaches. They face no consequences for their nonstop shenanigans. You'd think that at least football would be important to the football players, especially considering the movie's title, but nope; in their first game, they immediately brawl with the opposing team.
All this would be fine if the movie was directed with madcap energy, like countless other tacky but fun horny teenager movies. Instead, Pom Pom Girls plods from scene to scene with no connective tissue or reason to care what happens to these people. At one point, some of the teens visit a motocross track and watch bemused for at least four minutes. We watch along with them. Look at those motorcycles go. Wow. Then the teens decide to rent motorcycles. They ride for a few minutes. Look at the fun they're having. The next scene involves Jesse deciding to go to the beach. What a plot!
You'd think that with a name like Pom Pom Girls, this movie would do at least one thing right. It's a 1970s exploitation film, after all. But nope. The few "sexy" scenes are ineptly paced and uncomfortable. Even the de rigueur locker room scene is off-putting; we watch in complete, creepy silence while several of the cheerleaders remove their tops and bottoms, and then one asks another to feel her breast to see whether she has a lump. Hot hot hot!
A Time Capsule for the 1970's
SuperInsano3 September 2016
This movie doesn't have much of a plot at all, but maybe only "The Van" is more of a time capsule for the 1970's teenager. It makes me laugh how today's so-called critics will praise a movie like "Dazed and Confused" as a masterpiece and laugh at "The Pom Pom Girls" and consider it cheesy and dated. "Dazed and Confused" (while I love that film) is basically a bigger budget remake of "The Pom Pom Girls". The vibe and lack of plot of the two movies are very similar. If you enjoy "Dazed and Confused" you will surely love "The Pom Pom Girls". And don't be misled by the title...there's very little to do with Pom Pom Girls here unfortunately. It's actually more about guys. Overall this is a fun movie that is very much of its time and portrays what it was really like to be a teenager in the carefree crazy 1970's.
Probably the worst film ever to hit the screens.
pops12347 September 1999
While it has cheerleaders like the previous three movies I reviewed, The Pom Pom Girls was about more than that
tavm13 September 2014
This is now my fourth consecutive review of a cheerleader movie following The Cheerleaders, The Swinging Cheerleaders, and Revenge of the Cheerleaders. It's also the third in a row of a movie that features one Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith. She plays Roxanne here (though I don't remember her name ever being called in the film) and unlike the last two, she's not starring, only supporting or maybe "a glorified cameo" would be more like it since her appearances don't really have to do with the main action. The main cheerleaders featured here are Sally (Lisa Reeves) and Laurie (Jennifer Ashley). Sally is the blonde one who was once involved with Duane (Bill Adler) but then falls for one football player named Johnnie (Robert Carradine in a role much different from his later familiar one in Revenge of the Nerds!). Laurie is the brunette one who eventually warms to fellow pigskin player Jesse (Michael Mullins). Jessie himself previously liked to fool around as he does with Roxanne and a car hop girl named Sue Ann (Susan Player) before getting involved with Laurie. Unlike the other cheerleader movies I previously reviewed, the sex-while there-isn't emphasized too much. In fact, while The Cheerleaders was a sex farce through and through, The Swinging Cheerleaders went back and forth between comedy and drama, and Revenge of the Cheerleaders was a contrived chaotic mess, The Pom Pom Girls seemed more life-like in presenting the teen hijinks and seeing how some friendships and relationships develop overtime despite some still contrived moments like the football game devolving into a free-for-all fight! And, yes, some scenes do borrow from some classic movies like the "chicken run" that does have a character mention James Dean and his Rebel Without a Cause. My favorite was a food fight scene that has Carradine and Adler taking their time in Laurel-and-Hardy slow burn-like fashion. Oh, and the '70s music soundtrack sounds just like the kind of songs one would hear on AM radio in those days. It should be noted that Crown International Pictures-perhaps one of the most successful of the drive-in distributors-was responsible for this and they always made many quite enjoyable B-type movies of this genre like Malibu Beach (which also featured Susan Player) and The Van (which also featured Bill Adler). Oh, and the director of this may surprise you if you're more familiar with his suspense movies like The Stepfather or Sleeping with the Enemy: Joseph Ruben! He also co-wrote it. Actually, the ending scene may clue you in of his talents there. Anyway, I really enjoyed The Pom Pom Girls so, yeah, that's a recommendation.
The Rebellious Seventies Ride Again!
JohnHowardReid9 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Perhaps there is too much casual rebelliousness and not enough (in fact hardly any) getting down to serious work, but this colorized view of teenage school kids in the seventies certainly has plenty of action - particularly what we might call thoughtless actions - which the script always excuses, hardly ever justifies and never condemns. Although approaching adulthood, the rebellious teenage school kids are always in the right, no matter who they ridicule, steal from, abuse or endanger. This said, the movie is compellingly acted by every one of its large cast of players, and it is directed not only with a great deal of competence, but a certain amount of style. The excellent print I watched was on a DVD in Mill Creek's "Drive-In Cult Classics Collection".
An unforgettable senior year
bkoganbing25 May 2019
Two cheerleaders and two football players decide that their last year at Southern
California's Rossdale High School is going to be different. Jennifer Ashley and
Lisa Reeves team up after a fashion with Michael Mullins and Robert Carradine
and do some memorable things.
A lot of this has to do with the football rivalry with the next town over. Among the things these high spirited youth do are kidnapping and steal the fire engine from the rival town.
A lot of sex scenes with nubile teens is the rest of The Pom Pom Girls.
If that's what your taste runs to.
A lot of this has to do with the football rivalry with the next town over. Among the things these high spirited youth do are kidnapping and steal the fire engine from the rival town.
A lot of sex scenes with nubile teens is the rest of The Pom Pom Girls.
If that's what your taste runs to.
They Sure Liked To Eat Hamburgers In This One
cutterccbaxter3 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
1976 was a mellow year. And California was the ground zero of mellowness. The main vibe of "The Pom Pom Girls" would seemingly be mellow tunes drifting out from an 8- track player in the back of a mellow yellow van while "getting it on" or even just "takin' it easy." And yet, the mellowness is but a light frosty layering over a nihilistic cake that makes up the brunt of The Pom Pom Girls. Do these kids care about anything other than engaging in behavior inspired by the Greek god Dionysus? It's all sex, beer and mellow rock and roll as far as they are concerned. They steal a fire truck, urinate in public and punch out the football coach. Sure, it's all in good fun, because you are only young once, but somehow the on-screen shenanigans rarely had the liberating stamp of youthful anarchy that the film seemed to be seeking.
I'll spare you the obligatory pun equating pom poms to breasts.
happyendingrocks17 June 2020
It's hard to know what to make of The Pom Pom Girls. Though the producers of this flick clearly knew what they were doing when they cooked up that moniker to lure in their target young male audience, the title has very little to do with the movie they actually made. There are indeed cheerleaders in this film, but most of them are essentially used for set dressing while the bulk of the proceedings fixate upon the shenanigans carried out by two of the football players they're on hand to cheer for. Obviously crafted on a grindhouse budget and with that mindset, The Pom Pom Girls further confounds expectations by eschewing the anticipated exploitation elements to devote most of its run-time to a series of tepid vignettes that aren't connected with any real story to speak of, then abruptly swerving into a fairly straight teen drama in the the third act (reportedly, 80 seconds of nudity and language were excised from the original R-rated cut to earn the film a wider PG release, which is the version that most commonly circulates now). The end result is a movie that is roughly half decent and half pointless, which makes delivering a firm recommendation somewhat of a challenge.
The centerpieces of the action here are Johnny and Jesse, two best friends gearing up for their upcoming high school gridiron season. They spend most of this caper wandering from one misadventure to the next with little rhyme or reason: driving around, eating burgers at the local hangout, making out with various girls, defacing the cars at their rival school, having food fights, urinating out of their classroom windows, then stealing a fire truck and nearly murdering the town Sheriff with it (you know, normal teenage stuff). Though presented in a light-hearted way, their antics are more hm-amusing than sincerely ha-ha-humorous, which leaves the comedy quotient here severely lacking. The tenor of the film shifts for the better when the duo finally couples up with Laurie and Sally, the main Pom Pom Girls they've been casually chasing from the start. Suddenly, actual storylines begin taking shape: Johnny contends with the increasingly volatile machinations of his gal's jealous ex-boyfriend, as Jesse struggles to kick his habit of bedding a bevy of lasses in the back of his van and commit to just one while also butting heads with the team's despotic coach. From this point forward, PPG remains a far cry from the nuanced character studies in Dazed And Confused, but the narrative at least finds some sense of purpose and the last 30 minutes are a vast improvement because of it.
It's interesting to see a pre-Revenge Of The Nerds Robert Carradine tackle the leading man role, particularly because his Johnny is pretty much the same soon-to-be iconic goofball minus the glasses and few braincells. Only here, that mien results in him being a popular football player who's impressively successful with the ladies (who knew a change of clothes and a pair of spectacles could make a young man's social fortunes plummet so drastically?). TV cop show stalwart Michael Mullins does a capable job of bringing Jesse to life, while the spotlit Jennifer Ashley and Lisa Reeves are both attractive and likeable enough to distinguish themselves as the clear stand-outs among their fellow Pom Poms.
However, the most engrossing elements in this effort are an accidental product of its era. This is a thoroughly '70s film, and since it's singularly focused on youth culture a lot of the best aspects of that decade play prominent roles. The small town where the action takes place is straight out of a simpler time, while notable features like the bustling carhop, roads with no traffic, and wide open plots of waterfront sand without another beachgoer in sight offer glimpses of a world which sadly does not exist anymore. The classic cars and vintage clothes are all authentic in a way that no modern period piece could ever faithfully duplicate, and even without the benefit of a purse large enough to license popular contemporary songs for the soundtrack, all of the needfully obscure music used in the film sets the tone very well.
In the end, you can't sincerely fault The Pom Pom Girls for not being what it appears to be, since what it really is has more than enough charms to justify the 85-minutes you'll spend with it. If you're so inclined, give it a look for the beautiful girls, good tunes, and a vivid snapshot of high school in the 1970's. Anyone likely to be interested in a B-grade relic like this has undoubtedly invested much more energy for a much more meager payoff than that.
The centerpieces of the action here are Johnny and Jesse, two best friends gearing up for their upcoming high school gridiron season. They spend most of this caper wandering from one misadventure to the next with little rhyme or reason: driving around, eating burgers at the local hangout, making out with various girls, defacing the cars at their rival school, having food fights, urinating out of their classroom windows, then stealing a fire truck and nearly murdering the town Sheriff with it (you know, normal teenage stuff). Though presented in a light-hearted way, their antics are more hm-amusing than sincerely ha-ha-humorous, which leaves the comedy quotient here severely lacking. The tenor of the film shifts for the better when the duo finally couples up with Laurie and Sally, the main Pom Pom Girls they've been casually chasing from the start. Suddenly, actual storylines begin taking shape: Johnny contends with the increasingly volatile machinations of his gal's jealous ex-boyfriend, as Jesse struggles to kick his habit of bedding a bevy of lasses in the back of his van and commit to just one while also butting heads with the team's despotic coach. From this point forward, PPG remains a far cry from the nuanced character studies in Dazed And Confused, but the narrative at least finds some sense of purpose and the last 30 minutes are a vast improvement because of it.
It's interesting to see a pre-Revenge Of The Nerds Robert Carradine tackle the leading man role, particularly because his Johnny is pretty much the same soon-to-be iconic goofball minus the glasses and few braincells. Only here, that mien results in him being a popular football player who's impressively successful with the ladies (who knew a change of clothes and a pair of spectacles could make a young man's social fortunes plummet so drastically?). TV cop show stalwart Michael Mullins does a capable job of bringing Jesse to life, while the spotlit Jennifer Ashley and Lisa Reeves are both attractive and likeable enough to distinguish themselves as the clear stand-outs among their fellow Pom Poms.
However, the most engrossing elements in this effort are an accidental product of its era. This is a thoroughly '70s film, and since it's singularly focused on youth culture a lot of the best aspects of that decade play prominent roles. The small town where the action takes place is straight out of a simpler time, while notable features like the bustling carhop, roads with no traffic, and wide open plots of waterfront sand without another beachgoer in sight offer glimpses of a world which sadly does not exist anymore. The classic cars and vintage clothes are all authentic in a way that no modern period piece could ever faithfully duplicate, and even without the benefit of a purse large enough to license popular contemporary songs for the soundtrack, all of the needfully obscure music used in the film sets the tone very well.
In the end, you can't sincerely fault The Pom Pom Girls for not being what it appears to be, since what it really is has more than enough charms to justify the 85-minutes you'll spend with it. If you're so inclined, give it a look for the beautiful girls, good tunes, and a vivid snapshot of high school in the 1970's. Anyone likely to be interested in a B-grade relic like this has undoubtedly invested much more energy for a much more meager payoff than that.
70s Update of a 60s Beach Party
amatodarryl6 April 2024
Mischievous, fun-loving California adolescent hormones are in high gear in "The Pom Pom Girls" (1976) as well as in all those Annette and Frankie beach romps. Alterations here include gratuitous topless cheerleaders and bare bottomed football players having simulated mating in a van. Black-haired, straight-laced Annette and clean-cut Frankie, who never ventured beyond hand-holding and chaste kisses, are replaced by black-haired, crooked-laced Jennifer Ashley and raggedy-clothed Robert Carradine.
The pranks include spray-painting car windows of a rival team, staging a fire truck heist, running the sheriff off the road, and just generally irritating authority figures. The guys imbibe a lot of beer, wolf down burgers and fires, and challenge each other to a drag race.
The pranks include spray-painting car windows of a rival team, staging a fire truck heist, running the sheriff off the road, and just generally irritating authority figures. The guys imbibe a lot of beer, wolf down burgers and fires, and challenge each other to a drag race.
Yay!
BandSAboutMovies17 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Director Joseph Ruben has made some pretty good movies like Dreamscape, The Stepfather, Sleeping With the Enemy and The Good Son. This Crown International Pictures movie was directed by him and written by Robert J. Rosenthal, who also wrote The Van and directed and wrote Zapped! And Malibu Beach.
Johnnie (Robert Carradine) is the hothead. He has a crush on Sally (Lisa Reeves) but he's dating a tough guy named Duane (Bill Adler). Jesse (Michael Mullins) is the ladykiller and he's all into Laurie (Jennifer Ashley). These teens end up hanging out, stealing fire engines, getting in chicken races and falling in and out of love.
It's not as sexual as you think. I mean, there's sex. But it's more about growing up. It's a hang out movie and so much of it doesn't go anywhere, like the coach who doesn't like Jesse. But look, Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith is in it and when I saw her name in the credits, I literally said a little prayer thanking whatever intelligent design created her.
For maniacs like me: There's a scene where Ashley wears a Boy Scouts Of America shirt from the San Gabriel Valley Council. She's wearing that same shirt again in Tintorera...Tiger Shark.
Johnnie (Robert Carradine) is the hothead. He has a crush on Sally (Lisa Reeves) but he's dating a tough guy named Duane (Bill Adler). Jesse (Michael Mullins) is the ladykiller and he's all into Laurie (Jennifer Ashley). These teens end up hanging out, stealing fire engines, getting in chicken races and falling in and out of love.
It's not as sexual as you think. I mean, there's sex. But it's more about growing up. It's a hang out movie and so much of it doesn't go anywhere, like the coach who doesn't like Jesse. But look, Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith is in it and when I saw her name in the credits, I literally said a little prayer thanking whatever intelligent design created her.
For maniacs like me: There's a scene where Ashley wears a Boy Scouts Of America shirt from the San Gabriel Valley Council. She's wearing that same shirt again in Tintorera...Tiger Shark.
Rebels with a Cause
sol-4 March 2017
Oddly titled, this high school comedy does not focus on cheerleaders but rather two teen boys who enjoy chasing them in between football practice, driving fast cars, playing practical jokes and tormenting students at a rival school. The film's unusualness does not just stop at its title with not only very few cheerleaders but noticeably little female nudity for a high school comedy of its age (there is only one shower scene and it involves the male students). Whether the film has much to offer beyond its daringness to be different is difficult to say. Robert Carradine is always likable and fun to have on screen; co-star Michael Mullins is also great in an awkward breakfast scene, and the pair bounce well off one another. The duo find themselves in a film though where little occurs plotwise - something that results in large lulls in between memorable moments such as Carradine urinating out of a window. The characters also remain largely unchanged for all their adventures and shenanigans; this certainly is not a film like 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' or even 'Private School' in which the high school experience serves for an inner awakening. And yet, there is something quite pointed with how emotionally detached the students are in the final scene, as if nothing -- no matter how horrific or dangerous -- can shatter their intent on hedonistically living life to its fullest. The film is also smart enough to have the characters acknowledge the plot similarities to 'Rebel without a Cause', but ultimately one needs a little more than a resonating conclusion for a film to fully click.
A strictly so-so 70's drive-in cheerleader comic romp
Woodyanders14 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This strangely lackluster Crown International Pictures offering was a massive drive-in success, but alas it barely earns passing marks as a merely acceptable timewaster. The main problem with this film is that there's too much emphasis on the supposedly funny, but more often just plain dumb and annoying hotrod-racing antics of Rosedale High School students Robert ("Massacre at Central High") Carradine and Michael Mullins. The much more luscious and enticing female stars Lisa Reeves and Jennifer ("The Centerfold Girls") Ashley are relegated to secondary supporting status while the always appreciated and invigorating presence of the immensely adorable and angelic Rainbeaux Smith is shamefully wasted in a minor small part. Worse yet, this pretty tepid movie isn't anywhere near as raunchy or energetic as other entries in this funky sub-genre. Only a slight smattering of skin and the sporadic hoppin' moment (two couples tumbling down a hill, the mandatory chicks-peeling-out-of-their-threads locker room scene, the climactic "Rebel Without A Pause"-inspired chicken car race) alleviate the general tedium. Still, dependably gruff character actor James Gammon makes for a marvelously hateful villain as a brutish football coach, Reeves, Ashley, Smith, Diane Lee Hart and Susan Player Jarreau are all real easy on the eyes (and all of 'em take off their clothes, albeit only briefly), and the film does kill 90 minutes in a relatively painless and diverting manner. Director Joseph Ruben eventually graduated to bigger and better things with the superior 80's thrillers "The Stepfather" and "True Believer."
The teenage dream of the '70s lives on...
kingdaevid23 September 2003
...1976 saw two particularly notable depictions of high school life on the big screen. The one released later in the year, CARRIE, was a nightmare; the earlier release, THE POM POM GIRLS, was the dreamy ideal (at least to most high schoolers of the period). Interestingly, the dream has aged somewhat better than the nightmare, even if CARRIE is much more frequently run on cable nowadays. In a departure from the Crown International Pictures drive-in norm of the period, the young ladies aren't subjected to any hideously sexist hijinks (can't say that for THE VAN or VAN NUYS BLVD.), there seems to be genuine respect and friendship between the boys and girls, and what happens in this movie (except for the fire truck prank) actually seem plausible. There's even an airy quality to the soundtrack music, lifted from the previous year's debut album by Cotton Lloyd & Christian (including Michael Lloyd, whose record productions for The Osmonds these high schoolers obviously grew up on), that's surprisingly refreshing. Even James Gammon, playing a head football coach over a decade before MAJOR LEAGUE, seems rooted in the period. If you were part of the American Class of '76, this is your picture...
Fun in the sun!
gmoore4420 May 2004
I first saw The Pom Pom Girls way back in 1976, when it was first released. Having graduated from high school in 1975, it was fun to watch. It gave me a feeling of "Why wasn't I lucky enough to live in Southern California at the time?" Being able to catch it again, remastered in 2001, I enjoyed it! Sure, it may be dated, but I think that might be part of it's charm. The time capsule feel, of teen life in the 70's, was a bit nostalgic. Back when condoms were used to prevent pregnancy! If you get the chance, check it out. Especially people like myself, who were teens in the 70's.
not great,but has that feel
dday07-110 June 2001
this is by no means a good movie,but being someone from so. cal during the seventies,this movie catches the feel better than most out there.the best movies for that feel were the ones made in the seventies.i enjoyed dazed and confused but in no way felt like the seventies.if you want to know how it was like for people who partied,then check it out
every now and again a flash of T&A
christopher-underwood13 March 2012
I really liked this although I have to say I was initially interrupted in my viewing and subsequently watched it in bite size chunks. This doesn't seem to have mattered though because the film is itself rather episodic, lacking any particular plot line. Instead we get a procession of largely entertaining sequences. Action, comedy and every now and again a flash of T&A. The music is surprisingly effective too, further adding to the authentic late 70s feel. Though the budget must have been slender there is no evidence of penny pinching and what may be lacking in extravagant sets is made up for with authenticity and imagination. I was intrigued to see, having been impressed with the direction, whether the director had gone on to make anything else and it turns out he most certainly has and is still working. Some feat, for I don't suppose too many of the directors featured on my, 'Drive-In Classics Vol 3' can say the same. A pleasant way to spend some time, even if in ten minute doses.
Worth seeing
lazarillo11 December 2007
This is a rare film in that it is a 1970's teen movie that seems to have been genuinely aimed at 1970's teens (rather than drooling adult perverts). The so-called "teen sexploitation" genre would become really big in the early 1980's era of "Porky's" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont", and is still going strong today even in these censorial times. Personally though, the 80's films remind me too much of my own adolescence, and I prefer to leave the modern-day teen films to modern-day teens, but I just can't get enough of the 70's teen films though. Unfortunately, while many of these films are nominally ABOUT 70's teens, very few seem to actually be made FOR 70's teens. Take, for instance, "The Cheerleaders", the movie that started off the craze for sexy and sex-crazed high school and collegiate cheerleaders, which may be considered a classic by some, but can hardly be considered even a remotely realistic portrayal of teenage life in 70's America. The same can be said with the rest of the cheerleader films (which eventually reached their logical culmination in the hardcore classic "Debbie Does Dallas").
This film is different, however, in that it seems to be trying to capture the anarchic free spirit of the era more than just being an excuse to salivate over naked nubile bodies. It actually resembles "Dazed and Confused" (minus, of course, the self-conscious nostalgia) more than "The Cheerleaders". Of course, it's not all that realistic (the kids at one point steal a fire truck, which I think even in the 70's would have more likely been considered a serious felony than hilarious teen hijinks), and there IS some sex and nudity (naturally, with the ever-exploitable Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith in the cast).
There's no point in relating the plot because there really isn't one in these kind of movies--just a lot of random partying, sex, and wacky teen hijinks). The cast is pretty interesting. Besides Smith, there's Robert Carradine, the youngest Carradine brother, who was also in the minor cult film "Massacre at Central High" with Smith and the underrated "TAG:The Assassination Game", but is, of course, most famous for "Revenge of the Nerds". There's also Jennifer Ashley, a minor but ubiquitous drive-in queen, who even showed up in Mexican exploitation films like Rene Cardona Jr.'s sex and shark epic "Tintorera", and the luscious Susan Player who appeared in both American ("Malibu Beach") and European ("Las Adolescentes") exploitation fare. The director, Joseph Ruben, meanwhile would go on to direct "The Stepfather", one of the most cleverly subversive horror films of the Reagan era. This isn't quite as good as any of these aforementioned films (well, I guess it's better that "Tintotera"), but it's certainly worth seeing.
This film is different, however, in that it seems to be trying to capture the anarchic free spirit of the era more than just being an excuse to salivate over naked nubile bodies. It actually resembles "Dazed and Confused" (minus, of course, the self-conscious nostalgia) more than "The Cheerleaders". Of course, it's not all that realistic (the kids at one point steal a fire truck, which I think even in the 70's would have more likely been considered a serious felony than hilarious teen hijinks), and there IS some sex and nudity (naturally, with the ever-exploitable Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith in the cast).
There's no point in relating the plot because there really isn't one in these kind of movies--just a lot of random partying, sex, and wacky teen hijinks). The cast is pretty interesting. Besides Smith, there's Robert Carradine, the youngest Carradine brother, who was also in the minor cult film "Massacre at Central High" with Smith and the underrated "TAG:The Assassination Game", but is, of course, most famous for "Revenge of the Nerds". There's also Jennifer Ashley, a minor but ubiquitous drive-in queen, who even showed up in Mexican exploitation films like Rene Cardona Jr.'s sex and shark epic "Tintorera", and the luscious Susan Player who appeared in both American ("Malibu Beach") and European ("Las Adolescentes") exploitation fare. The director, Joseph Ruben, meanwhile would go on to direct "The Stepfather", one of the most cleverly subversive horror films of the Reagan era. This isn't quite as good as any of these aforementioned films (well, I guess it's better that "Tintotera"), but it's certainly worth seeing.
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