Special credit must go to the ever-surprising and enterprising Jack Hill for making the single most wickedly subversive film in the popular 70's cheerleader sub-genre. Sure, it certainly delivers the prerequisite ample doses of silly slapstick humor and tasty sex and gratuitous nudity, but along with that sleazy stuff we also have a remarkably astute critique of gender roles and sexual stereotypes as well as a deliciously sly and playful sense of anarchic humor.

Sassy Mesa University underground newspaper reporter Kate (winningly played by lovely brunette sprite Jo Johnston) decides to pose as a cheerleader in order to get the straight dope for an article on "female exploitation in contemporary society." Kate soon discovers that there's much more to being a cheerleader than just sexy short skirts and fluffy pom-poms. They're actually troubled individuals with serious issues: Sweet Rainbeaux Smith is a frustrated virgin who's eager to learn more about sex, Colleeen Camp is a snotty, stuck-up rich bitch who always gets what she wants, and Rosanne Katon ("Playboy" 's September '78 Playmate of the Month) is having an affair with a married college professor. The seemingly cocky and sexist star football player turns out to be a nice, sensitive guy and the allegedly radical hippie college newspaper editor ultimately gets exposed as a hypocritical misogynistic phony. Moreover, both the shady campus dean and the duplicitous football coach are involved in a numbers racket. Wow, talk about campus unrest! Besides the unusually sound plot and provocative political subtext (both very rare and welcome qualities in the often schlocky and strictly superficial cheerleader sub-genre),"The Swinging Cheerleaders" further boasts a wonderfully lush'n'plush look, uniformly solid acting, nifty policeman bits by crusty character actor John Quade and veteran Hollywood stuntman Bob Minor (who also popped up in "Coffy," "Foxy Brown" and "Switchblade Sistors" for Jack Hill),and a hilariously wild'n'wacky slapstick finale. Clips from this gem are featured in the acclaimed Errol Morris documentary "The Thin Blue Line."

"The Swinging Cheerleaders" may not be one of cult filmmaker Jack Hills' best, but it's still a solidly engaging film of its type. It probably won't be nearly trashy enough for some people, but for others it should prove to be an agreeable way to spend just over an hour and a half.

Hill and David Kidd wrote the story (using female pseudonyms),about the cheerleading squad for a college football team. Their newest recruit is an uptight gal named Kate (Jo Johnston),who initially is only becoming a cheerleader so she can get inside information for an expose that she wants to write. Among other story threads, the coach (Jack Denton),an alumnus (George Wallace),and a stats professor (Jason Sommers) are lured by the prospect of big winnings and begin to bet on the outcomes of the games.

Once again, Hill does understand that there are requirements for this sort of entertainment, and some of the lovely young ladies do take off their tops. The yarn that he and Kidd spin here is actually pretty straightforward and enjoyable, and things never, ever get overly serious. Not that characters come out unscathed, however, as the virginal Andrea (ever adorable Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith) is taken advantage of by lowlife guys, to use one example.

The performances are uniformly solid from the whole cast. Of the main cheerleader performers, sexy blonde Colleen Camp (playing the catty Mary Ann) went on to what is easily the most notable mainstream career of any of them. Future Playboy Playmate Rosanne Katon rounds out this foursome. Ron Hajak and Ric Carrott are fine as personable jocks Buck and Ross, Ian Sander is perfectly odious as creepy and arrogant campus radical Ron, John Quade and stunt coordinator Bob Minor are good as nasty security guards Belski and Ryan, and Mae Mercer is memorable as Professor Thorpes' scary wife.

An amiable if somewhat mild example of 70s sleaze.

Seven out of 10.

THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is something of a tame enterprise for exploitation director Jack Hill, best known for his cult and gang culture movies. This one's more of a high school sex comedy, with a female reporter going undercover in a cheerleading team in order to uncover some murky corruption involving those at the top. It's mostly an excuse for lots of sex talk and scenarios involving relationships and characters bedding one another. Tragic starlet Cheryl 'Rainbeaux' Smith has a good if minor part as a virginal cheerleader while the unknown Jo Johnston - for whom this was the sole acting credit - is excellent as the undercover protagonist. There's not much in the way of action or violence, except at the climax, but the requisite nudity and sleazy characters keep it mildly entertaining.