Tomboy

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.

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.

Not a flashback for anytime of my young boy to teenager 1970's, or my young adult to college BA and Master degree then first professional job in 1989, nor does it represent the hundreds of people I knew and worked or studied with during this time. However, it simply is a mindless ride into what might of been if all the stars were aligned and an actual UFO had landed inside your favorite college or NFL stadium and world peace had spontaneously broken out. Grab some popcorn, your favorite drink, put the top down on your convertible, and shot for the stars. A Crown International Picture, and thank God, not a Cannon production. I bought a used 12 pack of Too Cool for School as wanted to see The Van, and I will say that you get a full 1920 Kps with 12 chapter index, while a Cannon 4 pack had no chapter indexes and usually 75 minute run time, while AIP run a full 90 minutes. I also own AIP 200 movie pack of drive in both horror and sci fi and most US movies are filmed with professional care, unlike Canon and many International producers.

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.

Please. don't you just get sick of all those films that are just made as an excuse to put as much female flesh on display as possible? This one is probably worst than most though: not only do you have to put up with the usual bimbos and hunks with perfect teeth but no visible trace of any acting ability, you also have to endure some painfully cliched love scenes (complete with drippy mid 80's soundtrack of course) and an end race between the female lead character and her professional race-driver boyfriend that could have been lifted straight out of Grease (I won't bother telling you the outcome, if you hadn't guessed by now you've obviously never seen one of these underdog movies before, and good luck to you). Still we do learn a couple of interesting things from this film, one is that if you're a man (or a woman) who wants to get into the opposite sexes changing rooms, all you have to do is walk round the wall of your own changing rooms and you'll find it! Oh yeah, and all you need to turn a old rustbucket of a car into a gleaming new 150mph dream machine is 500 dollars and half a dozen spare parts from your local trashheap! So enjoy this flick, but most of all be prepared to have a blooming good laugh...