Squadra d'attacco

This totally made me think of all those great 80s movies - only, with David Lynch or some sicko remaking them with some guns and lots of bad language. I think the F word was the only one in the script. Except for the genius DIE TERRA DIE part... And the GYNOCOLOGIST remarks.

This is up there is my TOP 10 fave movies of all time. And the music is awesome.

Brooke Balderson and Amy Kelly have more energy than any other actress in their age group. Seriously, it comes bursting through the screen. I haven't ever experienced viciousness like that. In any movie. EVER. This is one piece of work!

If you like B movies, "Pep Squad" is a B Movie in the best sense of the word. Why it went straight to video is beyond me. It's mix of humour and artistry makes it stand out as the "El Mariachi" of teen flicks.

First time director Steve Balderson has fashioned not only an exceedingly witty script (Fave moment in a film full of fave moments: The cheer Cherry pays the cheerleaders to do), but has an eye for what Brian DePalma called "film as a visual medium". Take the costumes, each character given a very specfic look and tone through wardrobe, take the finale- a breathtakingly clever denoument set to a new wave version of the star spangled banner. Balderson also knows what B fans come to see and has seen fit to throw in the occasional bit of shock violence and gratuitous nudity (though even that is shot with a fair degree of look and purpose).

Special mention must be made of the director's sister, Brooke Balderson who, in the time warped town the film takes place in, is the most warped of all- a teenage Cruella DeVille. She's perfect- snarly, mean and way over the top. Then there's Jane Wiedlin look alike Summer Makovkin...well let's just say she's appealing on a purely personal level.

"Pep Squad" is what would happen if David Lynch, in full "Twin Peaks" mode, decided to make a John Hughes film. I can say nothing more than run out and rent it and let's get this film the cult following it so richly deserves.

...but I would be lying. A relative was a crew member, and we got to go watch the production of this movie for a couple of days (and I was an extra). I get to die and have a second of screen time, not that I plan on moving to Hollywood anytime soon. I just thought it was awesome to see how movies are made and be a part of it. Plus, I got a copy of the movie once it was finally released. They didn't have a studio backing when making this film so it truly was independent. Why the writing and acting is so awful is beyond me, but the main character "Cherry" is the director's sister so that could be part of it. But the cinematography was good. :)

Chanced across this indie gem and it was pretty good. The 'thing' i liked the most was the cinematography and the style of the action. There's definitely a vision here. And a lot was done with the found locations and the normal locations used for good effect (the laundromat). The acting was somewhat stilted in places, but I liked that people looked like real people. I had rented 'mean girls' at the same time, and i have to say i liked this one better. Darker and with more bite. And the 'pool' performance art scene- priceless!

The characters were waayyy to over the top and melodramatic in places. But they had their own styles, and was really nicely done. Scriptwise this was good in parts, but the broader themes of having something to say, and trying to be heard and understood by adults in high school- and the title of prom queen being really hotly contested? This was more effective than a parody. I really like 'Jawbreaker', but this was considerably better.

Great use of Kansas locations- where the people correctly say 'Pop', not 'Soda'.

This film wasn't perfect, but the vision behind, the direction, and the shooting style raises it above normal.

Balderson's first effort was obviously a first effort. I must admit that I think the version of this film I saw was a pre-release, being that I saw it sometime in '97 or perhaps earlier. The acting in this film was inconsistent, some scenes being quite believable and others not even close. This is understandable given that this film was most of the cast's first. The plot in this film is not even close to realistic. Again, understandable for the same reasons. When I met Steve and some of the other members of the cast and crew during filming (I used to live in Manhattan, KS, near where it was filmed), they were all genuinely excited about the project, but it was obvious they were not seasoned actors and crew members. I didn't like this film, but must concede that it was a valiant first effort. I look forward to Balderson's next film with Dennis Hopper!