Really Surprised!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I had this movie confused with another one called "The Cheerleaders," which was basically a raunchy exploit flick that looked like a hardcore movie, with the hardcore cut out. But "The Swinging Cheerleaders" is surprising in that it has a plot; several interlacing dramatic stories actually, and it's truly a fun movie. And the "Raincoat crowd" will be disappointed in the fact that this is VERY tame in the sex department. I searched this out because I'm a devoted Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith fan, and she is her usual sweet, beautiful self here, as the last cheerleader to lose her virginity, which she does in a sad way. Yes there is actually some good drama here to accompany the comic elements, and it's all really tasteful. So check out this early 70's time capsule; it's one of the good ones. I'm excited to see the sequel. "Revenge of the Cheerleaders."

Okay, this is my second cheerleader movie in a row I'm reviewing having previously commented on The Cheerleaders. In this one, Jo Johnson is Kate, an aspiring reporter who joins the college cheer team to expose them for their sexual hijinks but ends up finding out about a corrupt fix involving the football games. Ms. Johnson is quite a sexy brunette here surrounded by a blonde Colleen Camp as Mary Ann, another blonde Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith as Andrea, and a female of color Rosanne Katon as Lisa. Yes, there's some sex scenes with the requisite nudity and some funny lines and sequences but there's also some nice dramatic ones concerning much of the plot I mentioned. If I hadn't read the credits on Wikipedia and this site, I would have been fooled this was actually written by two women but it's actually two men as one of them is really director Jack Hill (as "Jane Witherspoon"!). Still, it sometimes felt like there was a feminist spin in some of the scenes and I liked the way the tone changed partly on a dime. So on that note, I recommend The Swinging Cheerleaders.

The prolific Jack Hill directs an exploitation feature this time focusing on cheerleaders and a football scandal..now this is what I seek out for my entertainment. The story-lines(..there are a series of plots focusing on certain cheerleaders and their love lives)aren't that challenging, just simple basic scenarios wrapped up in a tiny bow at the conclusion.Mesa College Dean, Head Football Coach, and a Math Professor all take part in a betting scheme, fixing numbers in regards to scoring during football games since the team is so talented. An underground college reporter, working on a major assignment for her term paper, decides to join the cheerleader squad to find dirt for it. Joe Johnston is Kate, the sexually liberated reporter who finds herself befriending her fellow cheerleaders, falling in love with the All American quarterback stud, Buck Larson(Ron Hajek) in the process. Buck is the boyfriend of head cheerleader Mary Ann(Colleen Camp), the prim, proper(..and quite naive)daughter of Mesa's Dean. Mary Ann doesn't have a clue that her man is banging all kinds of chicks on campus. Other sub-plots include virginal Andrea(Cheryl Smith)giving her football wide receiver boyfriend a hard time with her sexual hang-ups and cheerleader Lisa(Rosanne Katon)conflicted due to her affair with her married Professor Thorpe(Jason Sommers). Kate must contend with her deteriorating relationship with a campus radical who gets revenge on her, exposing the ditched article on cheerleader exploitation, raising the ire of her colleagues.I admittedly enjoy this kind of 70's drive-in fare, and as expected Hill understands how to deliver for this market. While the stories are soap opera in college kind of material, at least there was an effort to incorporate social themes reflecting that period of time. There's plenty of crude sex comedy humor throughout which means Hill done his homework. Hill mentions on the audio commentary that he hated football and didn't know that much about it, but I commend his ability to evoke the atmosphere of this particular setting, establishing how the sport could be used for behind-the-scenes crooked activities. Johnston(..I'm quite shocked this was her only performance)is quite appealing as the central character who stirs the pot and Cheryl Smith is beautiful / vulnerable as the dim bulb Andrea without a clue regarding the methods of passionate love-making. I love me some Colleen Camp and she's a fox, looking mighty fetching in her cheerleader uniform. There's some nudity sprinkled throughout, but Hill cuts away before sex commences.

The last time I saw this movie was in 1991 on USA "Up All Night" and I haven't seen it since. I first saw it in 1983 on cable when I was 12 years old,I had to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to watch it,because it was a "dirty movie". Those were the days. It may be cheesy as hell,but I like it. I noticed that Colleen Camp is in this,and no, there are no nude shots of her. One thing I've wondered about this is what type of movie this is: Comedy? Drama? Action? I think it's all three. I miss this movie and I wish it was available on VHS. I see SWITCHBLADE SISTERS is! Why isn't this one?! SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is way better than SWITCHBLADE SISTERS!