Film

The Cheerleaders

Name: The Cheerleaders
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1973
Cast: Stephanie Fondue, Denise Dillaway, Jovita Bush, Brandy Woods, Clair Dia

Gross-out comedy

A 1973 sex comedy about high school cheerleaders devising an elaborate scheme to sabotage rival teams before football games. It's broad, silly, and unapologetically of its era—think sketch comedy stretched to feature length, with more enthusiasm than craft. For cult film enthusiasts and anyone curious about how mainstream comedy looked before the '80s reshaped it.

TMDb rating

3.0

If you liked this

Porky's1981

The spiritual successor to films like this, but with better production values and a genuine warmth beneath the raunch. It became a cultural touchstone precisely because it balanced crude humor with actual character and heart.

But If you're seeking sophistication or subtlety in comedy, you won't find it here either. It's broad and occasionally mean-spirited in ways that feel dated.

The Hollywood Knights1980

A sprawling high school comedy with a similar sketch-like approach to humor and a huge ensemble cast doing their own thing. It's messy in a way that feels authentically fun rather than poorly executed.

But There's no real story holding it together, just a series of loosely connected gags. If you need plot, this will frustrate you.

American Graffiti1973

Released the same year, it's also an ensemble piece about young people, but it takes the material seriously and structures it like a real film. It shows what the era was capable of when given resources and a focused vision.

But It's almost the opposite tone—wistful rather than comedic, nostalgic rather than immediate. If you want more of the broad silliness, you'll feel the shift.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Cheerleaders

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Vixen!1968

Both are unashamed about their sexual content, but Meyer actually had technical skill and a coherent visual style. Watching Vixen first shows you what the ambition looked like before The Cheerleaders simplified it.

The spiritual ancestor of everything you're about to watch—a campy sex film that knows exactly what it is and commits to it fully. Meyer's visuals are genuinely inventive in a way that cheap '70s comedies aspire to but never quite reach.

But It's genuinely transgressive in ways that feel uncomfortable now, not just because of sex but because of the casual racism and violence. Also, it's serious about its raunch in a way that might deflate the fun.

Spring Break1983

Takes the same DNA of young people on a mission and stretches it across a spring break premise. It's equally unsubtle but has more polish and a bigger budget working in its favor.

But The '80s polish actually works against some of the raw energy of '70s filmmaking. It looks slicker but feels slightly more calculated.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High1982

An ensemble high school comedy that actually manages to be funny and smart simultaneously. It proves the formula could work with better writing and a stronger sense of character voice.

But It's so well-crafted and clever that it might make you wish the '70s comedies you're exploring had more discipline. A gap-widening film.

Meatballs1979

Another summer comedy with ensemble energy and Bill Murray in his early, genuinely anarchic mode. It has the same loose structure but actual warmth binding it together.

But It's sentimentality-adjacent in places, which might feel like a betrayal if you're after pure raunch. And Murray tends to dominate every scene he's in.

Stripes1981

A military comedy with the same ramshackle energy, where the humor comes from character types thrown together rather than a tightly plotted setup. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd improvise their way through most of it.

But The second half pivots toward actual stakes and action, which changes the tone. If you want pure comedy throughout, it betrays you a little.

The Bad News Bears1976

A sports comedy ensemble piece with real pathos underneath the jokes. It's from the same era and shows how you could make something that's genuinely funny without relying solely on sex comedy premises.

But It's considerably more heartfelt and serious than what you're exploring here. The tonal shift might feel like a comedown.

A Thousand Clowns1965

Both films trust their ensemble casts to carry the material without elaborate plotting. Both are about groups of people deciding the system doesn't apply to them. But one is a genuine comedy of character, the other pure premise.

A completely different kind of comedy—warm, character-driven, about nonconformists thumbing their nose at systems. It's silly and earnest in equal measure, with real affection for its oddball characters.

But There's no sex, no scheming, and no antagonists. The conflict is internal and philosophical. If you're after the ensemble energy and nothing else, this will feel like punishment.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!1965

Both are about groups of women using sex and deception as weapons against institutions and authority figures, but Meyer made it radical rather than cute. Where The Cheerleaders is safe transgression, this is the real thing.

Russ Meyer's masterpiece: women scheming, destroying, and triumphing over men through guile and physicality. It's anarchic, funny, visually wild, and genuinely transgressive in ways that have aged into art rather than artifact.

But It's aggressively weird and genuinely violent in places. The humor is anarchic rather than warm, and the female characters are designed to shock rather than charm. Not a comfortable watch.