Customer Reviews

Revenge of the Cheerleaders/Toga Party [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a two-tape set in a single case; the image on the case has nothing to do with either of the videos. And each tape is recorded in EP mode (also known as SLP or 6-hour mode). Despite warnings before the film of possible tracking and quality issues due to old footage, I had no problem with picture quality or even video stills.

"Revenge of the Cheerleaders" is, in my opinion, the better of the two videos by far. It does contain a significant number of clichés: cheerleaders (bonus: a *pregnant* cheerleader), obese and trouble-making school nurse, drugs and alcohol, poking fun at authority figures, gratuitous nudity, utterly gratuitous dance numbers (bonus: dancing in a *diner*), car chases, a food fight... and don't forget the drama of a high school basketball game!

Yes, that's a young David Hasselhoff among the cast; the "starring David Hasselhoff" on the cover must have been added after Hasselhoff achieved stardom, since he doesn't get top billing. His character, Boner, is just one of the group of protagonists.

Overall, if you're looking for a slightly campy, not-too-serious video with a lot of nudity and a few chuckles, "Revenge" is worth the admission price. The shower scene is my personal favorite.

The second video, "Toga Party," has *nothing* to do with togas and not much to do with partying. It's the story of a young farm boy who goes to New York to find stardom singing and playing the guitar. It's a mixed semi-parody of Elvis, rock-star life, and "The Wizard of Oz."

If you want "Toga Party" for an arousing film, you could do better; the naughty bits are far between, and the "plot" bits are tolerable. If you watch this film for the music... yikes. And if you want togas, you'll be disappointed.

Overall, "Revenge" gets four stars of five for being a reasonably good '70s skin flick/comedy/drama (in that order), while "Toga" gets two stars for being watchable and, in bits, enjoyable.

An amazing tale about a morality crisis at Aloha High School. Preggie cheerleaders,lovelorn but obese school nurse,drugs,booze and Gruber from TVs "McHale's Navy" as your chef-principal. Highlights: Hasselhoff "Hi protien breath" Generic teacher "The magic word SHORTHAND can mean the difference between a low paying job and a medium paying job." The dance scene in the malt shop with Hasselhoff is also precious. Actually ranks as one of those films that is soooo bad it's funny. Incidentally it's NOT starring David Hasselhoff; It's "FEATURING" David Hasselhoff as "B*NER!"

One I'm sure that would crack up the gang at Baywatch.

David Hasselhoff's career has seen many lows, but this double bill is surely his finest moment. Content to take a minor supportinng role, he doesn't try to impose his fearsome personality (or hairstyle) on the production. Such humility was also evident in his greatest musical effort "David Hasselhoff sings Pingu Songs". Perhaps it is his ability to work with animatronic plasticine models that will be remembered long into the future, but no sensible analysis of his career can be conducted without considering these two movies.

Raw. Crude. Immature. Unnprepared. All of these criticisms can be made of Hasselhoff's performance, but we see much more. We see genius. The genius of an actor who can connect with his audience and is not scared to humiliate himself on screen.

Watch these films. These were the days before he began talking to cars and other inanimate objects.

My review has nothing to say about "Revenge of the Cheerleaders", since I only bought "Toga Party", I'll concern myself with that film here. What we have as "Toga Party" is a re-edited version of the 70s midnight cult classic wanna-be, "Pelvis". The film stars absolutely no one you'd know, but I saw the film several times in the late 70s, and it is a hoot. It is one of the most patently offensive films ever made, crude, raunchy, with just enough non-PC humor to make you howl. "Pelvis" concerns a young man named Purvis who goes from down on the farm to New York City ("just like I pictured it!!") to make it as a singer. His songs, "I Knew A Man Who Screwed A Chicken", "Nazi Lady", "Gonna S**k My Way to the Top", and others are ingeniously written, and the characters in the film are stock characters you will know instantly, but each has a little twist about them. The story of how Purvis, now re-named Pelvis by his new agent, Susie Starmonger, makes it in New York is at times rude, at times filthy, but always hysterical. There are two small scenes missing from the original movie, but they are not missed. And the newly inserted scenes have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film, what the producers were thinking when they tried to get more mileage out of this is beyond me, but that's what FF buttons on remotes are for. If you remember "Pelvis" from the midnight circuit over 25 years ago, here is the real deal. The copy I bought has a label that reads "Monterey Home Video Presents....". I wish the owners of this could be tracked down so that the entire original "Pelvis" could be restored and released on DVD, but in the meantime, here it is, friends. Enjoy it as much as I have, for this is my movie "Holy Grail", one which I thought I'd never see again. Thanks to Amazon, I now have "PELVIS"!!!!!!!

a glimpse of hassel-will