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.
Review of The Pom Pom Girls
