Cherry Hill High

Five girls on a bicycle trip following their high school graduation discover that they are all virgins (highly improbable in the 1977 I remember). Encouraged by their slutty chaperone they do what any five innocent virgins would do--they make a bet to see who can "lose it" in the most creative way. This makes for one very strange movie. One girl does it with a muscular shark wrangler in a shark tank (don't try this at home, kids). She's obviously never heard of a hymen or that sharks are attracted by blood, but fortunately for her the film's budget doesn't allow for the single shark to actually occupy the same shot as the copulating couple. Another girl has a CB radio on her bike (?!)--obviously, the filmmakers had seen "Smokey and the Bandit" as well as "Jaws"--which allows her to get it on with a horny trucker, who during the entire movie never seems to actually pass the girls on bicycles. Another girl is picked up by a tough-looking biker, only to discover too late that "he" is a lesbian. The girls than discuss whether she's really lost her virginity in the "existentialist" sense. Then there's the "French" exchange student who sports the worst accent this side of Pepe Le Pew.

This is certainly not a good movie. The acting is atrocious. The post-synch dubbing is on par with a Godzilla movie, the music is execrable and includes (shudder) one girl playing original compositions on a guitar, and for "virgins" these girls sure spout an endless stream of sexual jokes and double entendres. The handle of the girl with the CB radio, for instance, is "Eager Beaver" (insert groan here). If you're looking for graphic sex there really isn't much, and the perverts must have been really p***ed off because the movie doesn't come anywhere near an actual high school. Still, there's something kind of refreshing about these 70's drive-in sexploitation movies. They felt no need to have the heroes find true love after they satiated the audience's lust for cheap sex and they didn't try to hide their leering sleaziness in a sensitive "coming-of-age" wrapper. And besides, if nothing else, this one is certainly original.

This film essentially begins with five young high school seniors on a 2-week bicycle tour through the countryside making a bet to see which one of them can lose their virginity in the most original way. To that end, one of their teachers by the name of "Miss Woodruff" (Linda McInerney) volunteers to help them in that endeavor and act as a type of mentor on their behalf. What follows is a series of scenes in which each of these five young women--along with Miss Woodruff--engage in sex with various males they meet throughout the course of their bicycle trip. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather typical drive-in movie which, for reasons of simple economics, found a niche during this particular time in history. Most of these films weren't that good and this is one is certainly no exception as it has among its many faults bad acting, awful music, boring scripts and hardly any humor to speak of. It does, however, have a couple of attractive actresses with Stephanie Lawlor (as "Alison True") and the aforementioned Linda McInerney being the best in my opinion. Not that it really mattered as none of them could possibly offset the obvious faults mentioned earlier and for that reason I have rated this film accordingly.

Despite the title and the cover ad, this is not a porn film. It's basically an ordinary sex comedy which was a few years ahead of it's time but deserves no more than an R. The plot is built around a group of teenage girls who make a pledge to lose their virginity in the most creative ways possible. You would think that this would make for an interesting premise but the production values are so low and the performances so amateurish, that interest quickly fades. Despite the concept, there is limited skin. The film makers seem to be trying for an anything-goes movie as they end up throwing in a sex scene in a shark tank (featuring the fakest looking shark you'll ever see!) an alien spaceship and a Let's Make a Deal take-off. The end result is an easily forgettable sex farce that doesn't really succeed in any department.

It's so damn bad, I know this is a film that couldn't be made today. "Cherry Hill High" makes "Plan Nine From Outer Space" look like a major cinematic achievement! I wish there was something positive to report about this movie, but I can't think of one. Zero stars.

Either "Rhonda" never saw this film, or did not see all of it. In any event, her comments are worthless as they give no explanation for what was so bad about this one.

I saw this on cable a few years back and remember it well. No, it is not a comic masterpiece. What it is, quite simply, is a very well photographed and effectively erotic soft core film with heavy lesbian action. That said, many of you will either take pains to seek this late 70's special on DVD/Video or avoid it like the plague.

In either case, I am giving this 6 stars out of 10 because it delivers on its premise well...something most "erotic" films frequently fail to do. In terms of both acting (acceptable), production values (above average)and direction (also above average), Cherry Hill High earns more than a passing grade!