The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie Review

Give me a T! Give me an A! What do we have?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 15, 2016

What guy hasn’t fantasized about being the star quarterback surrounded by a gaggle of hot cheerleaders? Guys may fantasize about that scenario, but women, especially women raised in the nascent feminist era of the early seventies, probably didn’t, and that dialectic informs the occasionally raunchy but generally kind of oddly sweet and good natured The Swinging Cheerleaders, yet another film from the often provocative Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Pit Stop, Coffy, Foxy Brown). The Swinging Cheerleaders is one of those films that purports to be an exposé but which in fact is instead truly exploiting the subject it’s supposedly investigating, somewhat similarly to another seventies’ outing with a pretty pronounced sexual subtext, The Harrad Experiment. The Swinging Cheerleaders’ central conceit is that a muckraking student journalist named Kate (Jo Johnston) is out to prove that cheerleading is a demeaning practice for girls raised in the wake of the efforts of stalwarts like Betty Friedan and/or Gloria Steinem. Kate goes “undercover” in a manner of speaking, which in this case involves donning the micro-miniskirt and tight top of a cheerleader, not to mention learning to “work” accoutrements like pom poms. Kate’s subterfuge brings her into contact with a bevy of other cheerleaders, several of whom are involved in various soap operatic shenanigans. There’s also a subplot involving game fixing and underhanded gambling schemes. All of this is folded into a somewhat raucous ambience that hints at sex farce but which actually seems to have something a bit more serious on its mind, at least at times.

Perhaps one of the most instructive things about The Swinging Cheerleaders, at least in a “backstage” sense, is that it was co-written by Hill and David Kidd, albeit with both males using female pseudonyms, perhaps to throw muckraking film critics off the scent and give the film an imprimatur of feminist authenticity. The Swinging Cheerleaders wants very much to offer a gynocentric point of view on its subject, but it perhaps unavoidably comes off as a little (and sometimes more than a little) sexist, though again in a kind of charmingly inoffensive way. Kate’s attempts to uncover the “subjugation” of women in their roles as cheerleaders of course leads to a number of sexual situations (not necessarily always involving Kate), an element where Hill toys with expectations in a kind of gently titillating way that doesn’t shy away from prurient interests but doesn’t really go full throttle, either.

That sexual element includes lots of bed hopping by a number of cheerleaders, various football players and (just for good measure) some actual faculty at the university where the film is set, in a plot point that is probably the most squirm inducing in the film. Kate of course quickly finds out that the so called degradation of women as cheerleaders is perhaps the least (or perhaps the lesser) of her problems, as some nefarious goings on indicate a criminal conspiracy behind some of the games’ final scores. That said, the whole proto-feminist angle that The Swinging Cheerleaders supposedly espouses isn’t especially well supported by what actually happens in the film, at least for some supporting characters. It’s in these sequences that Hill tends to appeal to the lowest common (salacious) denominator, giving what were probably largely hormonal male audiences (attracted by the film’s title) what they came for.

One of the kind of interesting subtexts in The Swinging Cheerleaders is its insistence that others not be allowed to define yourself. Kate comes into the proceedings as a supposed moral voice of authority (albeit one hiding her true motives), but quickly learns her preconceptions aren’t always correct. Other cheerleaders have to contend with how the guys see them and have to come to their own conclusions about whether or not they’re going to abide by those perceptions (it’s notable that some do, some don’t). Interestingly this tendency also spills over into the male demographic, especially with regard to the star quarterback, who is of course named Buck (Ron Hajek), and who is forced into a moral quandary of his own. The Swinging Cheerleaders frankly never really addresses these issues in any deeply meaningful way, but it at least glances in the direction of some interesting ideas while simultaneously providing what amounts to a modicum of jiggle.

The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Swinging Cheerleaders is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. Arrow's typically informative booklet discloses the provenance of the elements utilized for this transfer and the restoration process:

The Swinging Cheerleaders has been exclusively restored in 2K resolution for this release by Arrow Films and is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with mono sound.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered 4K Lasergraphics Director Scanner at Deluxe Burbank. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve at Pinewood Stuidos. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed using PFClean software. Overall image stability and instances of density fluctuation were also improved. All restoration work was completed at Pinewood Studios.

The booklet goes on to state that the restoration was completed in collaboration with Jack Hill. The results offered here are largely commendable, if not completely without problems. The palette looks very vivid and fresh, especially with regard to reds and blues. Ironically greens (the team color) can look just a bit tired and drab at times. Detail levels fluctuate fairly dramatically, with some on the fly footage on the fields looking pretty fuzzy. There are also a few moments that almost look like they've been sourced from secondary elements (look at screenshot 18, one which also shows some grain resolution issues which occasionally crop up). There are obvious and understandable variances between the bulk of this presentation and some of the stock footage (typically utilized for shots of games and/or spectators), with that footage often looking pretty distressed and at least occasionally looking like it was sourced from smaller formats.

The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Swinging Cheerleaders' LPCM Mono track may not pack a ton of punch, but it generally gets the job done with regard to dialogue, effects and the score by William Loose. Prioritization is fine throughout, and aside from a generally narrow and at times fairly shallow overall sound, there's no actual damage to report.

The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Jack Hill: Swingin' Alma Mater (1080p; 8:08) is a fun interview with the writer-director where he gets into some of the nooks and crannies of his career, including his early work in the music industry.


• Interview with Alfred Taylor (1080p; 10:15) is culled from interviews the cinematographer actually did for the previous release of Spider Baby.


• Interview with Jack Hill and Johnny Legend (1080i; 10:37) is an archival piece with fairly spotty video quality.


• New Beverly Cinema Q&A (1080p; 19:19) stems from a 2007 screening which also featured Hill's Switchblade Sisters as part of a double feature.


• TV Spots (1080p; 1:36)


• Commentary by Jack Hill

Additionally the typically well done insert booklet contains an essay, information on the restoration and several stills from the film.

The Swinging Cheerleaders Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Swinging Cheerleaders probably would have done better to have either gone completely gonzo with the farcical route or more traditionally dramatic (if probably soap operatic), rather than trying to have its veritable cake and eat it, too. The film has a few decent comic moments and some of the points it at least hints at are rather interesting, but Hill seems to want to also throw in enough salacious content to keep hot blooded males interested, and that creates a bit of a tonal unevenness. Technical merits are very good to excellent, and as usual Arrow has assembled a good supplemental package. With an understanding that this is not exactly Citizen Kane, The Swinging Cheerleaders comes Recommended.