CHEERLEADERS' WILD WEEKEND (1979)
Label: MVD Rewind Collection
Region Code: Region-Free
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 86 Minutes 5 Seconds
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Jeff Werner
Cast: Anthony Lewis, Hana Byrbo, Janet Blythe, Jason Williams, Kristine DeBell
While the artwork for this flick makes it look like a sex-comedy it's something all together different, this is a kidnapping thriller slice of exploitation chock full of nudity. Here we three former NFL football players turned kidnappers who abduct a busload of cheerleading squads traveling to a state competition, and hold them for ransom for two-million dollars. So we do have cheerleaders, and it does seem to be a pretty wild weekend, so I guess that still truth in advertising.
We have a trio of former pro football players, quarterback Jason (Jason Williams, Cop Killers), wide receiver George (Anthony Lewis), and the dim-witted lineman Big John Hunsacker (John Albert), plus a pill-popping, nipple-hardened lesbian named Frankie (Courtney Sands) who masquerades as the cheerleader's chaperone, plus Jason's younger brother Billy (Robert Houston, The Hills Have Eyes). They stage a phony police road block and knock the bus driver (B.J. Bush, who looks a lot like Jose Spinell) unconscious, then commander the bus, kidnapping the three rival cheer squads from different schools (Pierce, Polk and Darwell) who were headed to a statewide cheer competition. They take them to a remote cabin, hide the bus, and communicate with the feds and local cops via messaging sent to local DJ Joyful Jerome (Leon Isaac Kennedy, Penitentiary I,II,III)
While the artwork for this flick makes it look like a sex-comedy it's something all together different, this is a kidnapping thriller slice of exploitation chock full of nudity. Here we three former NFL football players turned kidnappers who abduct a busload of cheerleading squads traveling to a state competition, and hold them for ransom for two-million dollars. So we do have cheerleaders, and it does seem to be a pretty wild weekend, so I guess that still truth in advertising.
We have a trio of former pro football players, quarterback Jason (Jason Williams, Cop Killers), wide receiver George (Anthony Lewis), and the dim-witted lineman Big John Hunsacker (John Albert), plus a pill-popping, nipple-hardened lesbian named Frankie (Courtney Sands) who masquerades as the cheerleader's chaperone, plus Jason's younger brother Billy (Robert Houston, The Hills Have Eyes). They stage a phony police road block and knock the bus driver (B.J. Bush, who looks a lot like Jose Spinell) unconscious, then commander the bus, kidnapping the three rival cheer squads from different schools (Pierce, Polk and Darwell) who were headed to a statewide cheer competition. They take them to a remote cabin, hide the bus, and communicate with the feds and local cops via messaging sent to local DJ Joyful Jerome (Leon Isaac Kennedy, Penitentiary I,II,III)
There are about fifteen cheerleaders total, among them we have Debbie Williams (Kristine DeBell, Tag: The Assassination Game), Terri (Lachelle Chamberlain, Rivals), Marilyn Joi (The Kentucky Fried Movie), who seem to be the cognizant of their situation. The captors force them to perform an impromptu talent show, revealing their top-drawer assets, with the girl deciding to use their sexual charms to try to win over the captors and try to catch them off guard. Of course there's nudity galore, I mean lots of it, as the girls try to get the upper hand by baring their tits, and it seems to work. As I said at the top, the advertising for this one makes it look like a Porky's esque sex romp, and to a degree it is, a lot of breasts, but it's also a bit of seedy exploitation pick with violence and threatened rape, which sort of throws the vibes out of whack to be honest. It's the sort of pick where the female kidnapper stops the brutish Big John from raping one of the girls, only to take her to the bathroom where she soaps her tits up in the tub and molests her while little Billy sneaks a peak and jerks off while peering through the cracked open door!
One of my favorite scenes has the Mayor of the town holding a press conference, the parents of the kidnapped cheerleaders are in attendance, and he says what a tragedy it is, but that the state obviously cannot pay the ransom, but not to worry, they can all take out loans to pay their portion of the ransom, after a credit check, of course, just wow.
The girls are actually pretty resourceful for a bunch of topless teens, early on stealing a fork to use as an impromptu weapon, and stringing their panties together to form a trip-rope that comes into play later on., and I thought it was pretty cool how crafty the cheerleaders were. The pick-up of the ransom money is also a fun sequence, where all the football metaphors being bandied about by the former footballers actually coalesces into some actual football moves with the QB having to dodge undercover cops with his fleet footwork, then having to make a Hail Mary pass with a duffle-bag full of money into the window of a moving car. The rampant sleaze and nudity is not so much a surprise when you consider it was co-produced by Bill Osco who brought us the softcore Flesh Gordon - starring Jason Williams, and Alice In Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy - which starred DeBell also, but I was surprised to see Chuck Russell, future director of The Blob and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors credited as a co-producer.
While the tone of this one is wildly uneven, teetering between titty-comedy and seedy exploitationer, I gotta say it's quite an entertaining flick, the nudity certainly doesn't hurt, and I love how resourceful our young cheer squads turn out to be. Don't get me wrong, it's still a cheapie exploitation flick, but it's highly entertaining exploitation flick.
Audio/Video: Cheerleaders' Wild Weekend (1979) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. The source looks solid if not exactly HD perfection with staining, speckling, emulsion scratches, and vertical lines popping up throughout. Grain is present and looks organic, while colors looks generally very good, though the darker night scenes are quite dark and can be a bit of a chore to decipher visually, particularly a chase through the woods later in the film.
Audio comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with optional English subtitles. The track is audible, haha I will give it that. Dialogue can be muffled, occasional moments of hiss, pops and distortion are not uncommon.
Extras look to mirror the previous Scorpion Releasing's 2009 DVD. Some of those extras also appeared on the 2016 Code Red Blu-ray that was a DiabolikDVD.com and Code Red Big Cartel site exclusive. The Code Red Blu-ray did not carry-over Photo Gallery, Alternate Title Card, or the Original Theatrical Trailer. This MVD release remedies that and includes those extras, but omits the 4-min"Katarina's Bucket List Theater Mode".
What is ported over are the Audio Commentary featuring Director Jeff Werner, Actress Marilyn Joi, and Editor Gregory McClatchy; the second Audio Commentary featuring Star Kristine DeBell; the 9-min Interview with Actress Kristine DeBell; 9-min Interview with Actor Jason Williams; 15-min Interview with Actress Marilyn Joi; and the 27-min Interview with Actor Leon Isaac Kennedy. We also get a 3-min Photo Gallery dedicated to mostly nude scenes as well as movie posters, a 4-min Alternate Title Card Sequence; and the 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer, as well as a selection of MVD Trailers.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Single-Sided Sleeve of Artwork, and the first-pressing includes a Limited Edition Slipcover with faux wear and VHS rental stickers on it, and inside there's a Collectible Fold-Out Mini-Poster with the same artwork which makes this look like a sex-comedy along the lines of Screwballs or Porky's, which it is not.
Special Features:
- High Definition (1080p) presentation of the main feature in 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
- English LPCM 2.0 Mono Audio
- Optional English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary featuring Director Jeff Werner, Actress Marilyn Joi, and Editor Gregory McClatchy
- Audio Commentary featuring Star Kristine DeBell
- Interview with Actress Kristine DeBell (10:55)
- Interview with Actor Jason Williams (8:43)
- Interview with Actress Marilyn Joi (14:39)
- Interview with Actor Leon Isaac Kennedy (27:22)
- Photo Gallery (2:55)
- Alternate Title Card (3:49)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:17)
- MVD Trailers: Hail Caesar (2:15), Cop Killers (1:45) L.A. Wars (3:04), 1982: The Greatest Geek Year Ever! (0:58), Ski Patrol (1:59), Joystciks (2:22)
- Collectible Mini-Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
Screenshots from the MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray:
Extras:
Buy it!
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