Tomboy

Another selection from the Mill Creek 200 drive in cult classics box set.

What can I say about this one. If you like lame comedy weak plot, cheesy soundtracks and ample amount of nudity you will love this.

Tommy is a misunderstood gal. She loves fixing cars being tough and racing. No one respects her for being herself they all want her to be more girly and get laid already.

These movies were a dime a dizen back in the 80's. To friends just having fun and getting in to trouble. There is a race and montages but really not much to say.

Great movie kept my interest and was never boring. Some really good stuff here. If you haven't seen it I would give it a watch.

Definitely a highlight in this box set so far.

Betsy Russell, the 80's B-film queen who provided two of the only three reasons that Private School is worth seeing (Michael Zorek is the other) is miscast as Tomasina "Tommy" Boyd, a young woman who works as a mechanic and dreams of being a stock car driver and meeting her idol Randy Starr. She is also the tomboy of the film, who acts like a jock with her love of athletics than the usual girl things, unlike her friends.

Once again, this is an 80's film, so get ready for the requisites of the best decade of the 20th century. You'll see an aerobic style dancing display, shower scenes, a party, feathered hair, horrible fashions, music in the background almost half the time, etc. At least it's easier to take than the cheeziness you'll see in teen-pop videos, but it's cheddar all the way.

Betsy Russell, even with the Joel Polnochek hairstyle, just can't play a realistic tomboy. She's a gorgeous looking woman. Granted, I may be stereotyping here, but she's not the type who conveys it properly. I'd say that Drew, Lucy, and Cameron of "Charlie's Angels" fame are more "tomboyish".

While nothing more than poor, there are a few good scenes, such as the silly donut commercial that Tommy's friend Seville does, a scene where Tommy eyes her Randy Starr poster and the camera pans it down to a certain area. Also, if the makers of Gran Turismo are reading this, please put the cars featured in this movie in your next game, they rock. I'd love to drive one of those instead of a $2,000,000 F1. Otherwise, pass!

Shamelessly riffing most of its narrative beats from Flashdance, but instead of Kevin Bacon dancing, it's the world's slowest stock car race, Tomboy is a real slice of endearing and exploitative 80s B-movie nonsense, a typically silly romantic sex comedy, filled with poor acting, bizarre direction and weirdly high-energy bangers on its soundtrack. Director Herb Freed offers oodles of cheap titillation which often left me equal parts wincing as it did laughing at how inept someone can be when it comes to directing this sort of thing, an exceptionally sweet Betsy Russell acting circles around the rest of the cast even when her character is one-note and completely irrational, a naff 'battle of the sexes' storyline that hilariously mishandles its core message and one of the worst car races in movie history which help to elevate the film from utter drivel to entertainingly hilarious cheese. Rather than providing a full service and mot, Tomboy instead offers an interim at a fraction of the cost, an uproarious delight of a bygone era, one that aims higher than the B-grade schlock it was always meant to be.

This is perhaps one of the best "worst" movies ever made. This movie is so bad that most people who worked on it never worked again in Hollywood. The earliest anyone worked after this movie was 1989. It was certainly a career killer. But it was much more than that. If you think a girl shooting hoops on a motorcycle is hilarious or that a race car goes faster because cardboard accessories and onboard computers, this is the movie for you. This is one of the finest examples of the teen "sex-politation" genre in the early 80s. It stars the the recently deceased Eric Douglas and Betsy Russell (who was the Gretta Garbo of this genre). If you can find this movie- buy it. It is that good.

And how can you not love that cheesy, peppy, oh-so-80s pop theme song? This irresistible female-empowerment exploitation comedy stars the adorable, sexy as hell Ms. Russell as Tomasina "Tommy" Boyd, a young lady who'd much rather tinker with cars and play sports than do so-called "girly" things. She worships studly race car driver Randy Starr (Gerard Christopher), whom she is able to meet through Ernie Leeds, Jr. (Eric Douglas), a filthy rich auto racing entrepreneur. When the confident Randy isn't able to take her seriously, she sets out to prove that anything he can do, she can do just as well, if not better.

"Tomboy" creates some pretty good vibes for a pleasant 91 minutes. There's enough laughs and titillation to make it quite watchable. A big part of the appeal is Russell, one of the iconic 80s hotties who'd also made her mark in movies like "Private School", "Avenging Angel", and "Cheerleader Camp", and who's recently made a comeback in some of the "Saw" sequels. The movie itself is silly and clumsy at times, but ultimately upbeat entertainment. Voyeurs will be pleased with the amount of breast shots on display, and can take delight in a goofy, erotic commercial performed by Tommy's friend Seville (Kristi Somers, "Hell Comes to Frogtown"). The soundtrack provides tons of cheesy goodness.

The direction by Herb Freed, who'd previously done the horror pictures "Haunts", "Beyond Evil", and "Graduation Day", may not be inspired but it gets the job done, as do the performances by an engaging cast. Veteran Richard Erdman is likable as Chester, Tommy's boss and pal; Douglas, son of Kirk and brother to Michael, is effectively smarmy as the rich jerk. Fans of 80s movies will note the appearances by such people as Cynthia Thompson (the female lead in "Cavegirl", Dennis Hayden (one of the terrorists in "Die Hard"), and trash flick favourite Michelle Bauer, in an uncredited bit.

This kind of thing may not be Shakespeare, but it sure hits the spot for people just looking to have a good time.

Seven out of 10.