Kristen DeBell had a pretty wild 1979. The star of the X-rated Alice In Wonderland musical went completely legit starring The Main Event with Barbra Streisand and playing a camp counselor with Bill Murray in Stripes. She was in process of making The Big Brawl as Jackie Chan’s love interest. She still had one more film coming out that year with Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend (aka: The Great American Girl Robbery). This film is almost a reverse take on Meatballs with a group of girls loading up on a bus and going to a cabin in the woods where they learn an important life lesson. At no point did Bill Murray and the other counselors force the girls at gun point to have a striptease contest. Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend is a wild kind of film.
There’s a major high school cheerleading competition and 15 girls from the different programs board a bus destined to Sacramento State. The only adults are the school nurse and the bus driver. The girls (including Kristen DeBell) immediately get into frisky trouble as they tease drivers behind the bus with their sultry antics. One farmer and his chicken can’t handle the heat. The fun comes to an abrupt end when the bus gets hijacked by members of a terrorist organization with the hopes of the cheerleaders earning them two million bucks. Among those holding the girls hostage is an ex-college football star (Jason Williams from Flesh Gordon and Cop Killers) whose career came to an abrupt end. The cheerleaders are taken to an out of the way lodge in the woods and held at gunpoint by the domestic terrorists. The messages between them and the cops go through a radio DJ (Penitentiary‘s Leon Isaac Kennedy) to let them know if they’ll agree to their terms. Things get nasty quick at the lodge when the more pervy kidnappers are eager to have their version of fun with the cheerleaders. Are these girls going to survive the weekend?
Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend is a brilliantly messed up film. This isn’t a formulaic story about a school bus being hijacked like Dirty Harry. The governor’s office tells the parents that the state refuses to pay ransom money to kidnappers. But they’ll offer up a low-interest loan to the parents if they qualify. Who does this in a movie? Yet it sounds like the crazy sort of thing that would happen in reality. Unlike so many films from this time about school buses being hijacked, the cheerleaders are more than sad faced props. The ladies are eager to do more than wait for the grownups to negotiate their release. This makes it more than a late ’70s giggle fest that you’d catch late nights on HBO. The film doesn’t get too lofty. The movie opens with a few of the cheerleaders showering between the credits. A female kidnapper soaps up a cheerleader in the bathtub. There’s even a scene involving a cheerleader with a chainsaw to excite the crowd. A big pull for the film at the release was uniting the title stars of Flesh Gordon and Alice In Wonderland. DeBell and Williams look great together even if they’re on opposite sides of the gun. Cheerleaders’ Wild Weekend is a late-night thrill ride revived.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 1080p brings out the rustic elements of the kidnappers’ hideaway. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono. You’ll hear the all the kidnappers’ demands over the phone. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with director Jeff Werner, actress Marilyn Joi and Gregory McClatchy has them talk about what went on during the shoot. Werner talks about how low budget the film was which determined how the cheerleaders were cast. It was supposed to be a fun action film, but got a bit serious at points. Marilyn says it got rather sisterly during the shoot with the other cheerleaders.
Audio Commentary with Kristine DeBell jokes about the “billing war” with Jason Williams. She also mentions she had a no-nudity clause in her contract at that point in her career. The film was originally called Bus 17 Is Missing. She jokes how it’s tough to see her hair in the film. She explains why she wasn’t a cheerleader in high school.
Interview with Kristine DeBell (10:55) talks about her early days including being on Man Undercover with David Cassidy. She was hired directly by Barbra Streisand to be in The Main Event. She experienced her first earthquake while on an episode of CHiPs. We learn about her work to help Jackie Chan improve his English while shooting The Big Brawl. She talks about a pal finding a poster of her and Jackie in a distant land. This is a vintage interview from a previous home video release.
Interview with Jason Williams (8:43) him remind us of all his previous films including Flesh Gordon. He was up for the role James Taylor nabbed in Two-Lane Blacktop. He kept coming close to getting roles for nearly 8 months. That’s when he got the offer for Flesh Gordon. His time in college football locker rooms made him fine being nude around other people. This changed his career. He remembers making Cheerleaders after the erotic Alice In Wonderland.
Interview with Marilyn Joi (14:39) has her explain why she is listed as Tracy King in the movie. She explains how she never auditioned for parts. She would get offers while dancing in Los Angeles. She appeared in the legendary Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks. She was also Cleopatra Schwartz in The Kentucky Fried Movie. John Landis told me how on the set, Joi’s husband insisted that they agree that if Cleopatra Schwartz became a spin-off movie or TV show, she’d play the part. She guested on Good Times, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky and Hutch and Hill Street Blues. There’s a great story about the time she took her mom to see her in The Happy Hooker Goes To Washington at a theater. It turned out to be a different Happy Hooker flick.
Interview with Leon Isaac Kennedy (27:22) gets into playing the disc jockey. He had been Leon the Lover in radio stations around the country. This was one of this first film roles. He describes a special effects mask being done wrong on his face.
Alternate Title Card (3:49) is when the movie was released as Cheerleaders Wild Weekend. This appear to be taken from a VHS tape compared to the version on the film.
Photo Gallery (2:55) has press photos for gentlemen magazines and regular newspapers. There’s also the press kit and ads for when it was sent out as The Great American Girl Robbery with a R Rating.
Theatrical Trailer (1:48) sells this as a goofy teen romp filled with 15 cheerleaders and a farmer with chickens.
Mini Poster that’s suitable for framing.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Cheerleaders Wild Weekend: Special Edition. Directed by Jeff Werner. Screenplay by D.W. Gilbert & Jason Williams. Starring Kristine DeBell, Jason Williams, Anthony Lewis, Ann Wharton, Janet Blythe, Deslyn Bernet, Lachelle Chamberlain, Leslie King, Joan Wolff, Elizabeth Halsey, Marilyn Joi, Carmen Hayward & Leon Isaac Kennedy. Running Time: 86 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: December 17, 2024.
