Pom Pom Girls (1976, Joseph Ruben)

Pom Pom Girls is a film that really surprised me. Ever see a movie that wasn't at all what you were hoping for, but ended up being something way better...profound even? Yes, I am talking about a film called Pom Pom Girls. When I was a teenager, I loved horny teenage movies about the stuff in high school that I was too shy to experience first hand. Living vicariously through these wild and crazy teenagers was the next best thing. I first rented Pom Pom Girls when I was around 16, in hopes of another silly teen comedy. What I got was something more. Much more.

Pom Pom Girls takes place at Rosedale High. Summer has just ended and it's the Senior year for Jesse (Michael Mullins) and Johnnie (Robert Carradine). They are both trouble making, football players who like to drink and mess around with girls. They both have feelings for Sally (Lisa Reeves), who is going out with the (wannabe) tough guy of the school, Duane (Bill Adler). At the same time though, Jesse starts falling for nice girl Laurie (Jennifer Ashley). On top of their girl troubles, local Hardin High begins a rivalry with the Rosedale football players which starts to get messy.

In what seems to be a straight forward teen comedy, Pom Pom Girls ends up being one of the most realistic teen movies I have ever seen. Though I wasn't a football player or a ladies man in High School, when I saw this film back in my teens, I connected with the characters and the situations they faced. I envied what these guys were going through with girls and just teenage life in general. I wanted to be these guys. I wanted to be at their high school. Despite the fact this film came out 20 years before I was in high school, I could still relate to what was going on. It had been over 20 years since the last time I watched this film, but after seeing it again, I would still say that Pom Pom Girls is the best film about teen life ever made.

RATING: 10/10