H.O.T.S. (1979) Rating: 3.0 stars out of 5.0 stars
Cast: Susan Kiger, Lisa London, Pamela Jean Bryant, Kimberly Cameron, Angela Aames, Lindsey Bloom, K.C. Winkler, Donald Petrie, Danny Bonaduce, Ken Olfson, Richard Bakalyan, Louis Guss Written by: Joan Buchanan and Cheri Caffaro Directed by: Gerald Seth Sindell Running Time: 98 minutes
"No more shenanigans!!!" --- An exasperated Dean Chase (Ken Olfson), trying to shut down the H.O.T.S. sorority in H.O.T.S.
H.O.T.S. features a group of shall we say "top heavy" college girls who, after being rejected for membership in the prestigious Pi sorority at Fairenville University, decide to get even by starting their own sorority and stealing away every man on campus. A heartwarming tale indeed.
Quite surprisingly though, H.O.T.S. is a good natured, entertaining little romp of a movie. Sure there's nothing original here, as it follows the 70's college T&A genre to the letter and then some (concentrating heavily on the "T" portion of said genre), but so what? Now normally, the right-minded movie critic in me should be trashing this film, calling it degrading to women and whatnot. However, let me point out that the movie was written by two women.
Let me also point out that this movie is just entertainingly goofy from start to finish. The girls in the cast, many of whom were Playboy Playmates, are attractive in that 70s kind of way, and the performances are so far over the top that you can't help but be entertained by them. And how could you not like a movie that features a topless skydiver named Boom-Boom Bangs?
In addition to the main "plot" of seducing all the men on campus (which while discussed, really doesn't happen that much in the film), there are dozens of subplots, each one as charmingly absurd as the next. For example, the girls have to contend with two bumbling crooks who've recently escaped from jail and are attempting to infiltrate the H.O.T.S. house. The crooks are trying to recover the stolen loot they stashed there before they were incarcerated, and they make several "wacky" attempts to enter the house.
In an odd plotline that ultimately ties into the previously mentioned one, some of the guys from Fairenville University steal a rival school's mascot, a huge black bear (animals are a running theme in H.O.T.S. by the way, as the girls keep a live seal in their sorority house as a mascot). The bear manages to escape from the van it's in and ends up taking a swim in the H.O.T.S. girls' swimming pool. While swimming, the bear gets a whiff of something and proceeds to climb a ladder to the top of the H.O.T.S. house. In the attic, the bear finds a bee hive and enjoys some honey. The bear then remains in the attic UNDETECTED FOR DAYS until eventually foiling the bumbling crooks, as the money was stashed in the attic. Later, the bear flies a hot air balloon (don't ask).
A couple of cast and crew members from H.O.T.S. of note: Donald Petrie who plays "Doug" is now a successful director, scoring big with Grumpy Old Men, one of my personal favorites. Rowdy Herrington, who served as an electrician, is also a successful director with films like Road House and Striking Distance under his belt. And Danny Bonaduce of course went on to fight Geraldo Rivera (or was it Donny Osmond? I forget...) on Pay Per View.
But you don't care about any of that do you? Nah, if you're interested in this movie then you're interested in one thing: boobs. Well, there are boobs-a-plenty in H.O.T.S., as was the standard with this genre. They come early and often too... showers, wet T-shirt contests, and there's a grand finale of boobery with a strip football game between the H.O.T.S. girls and the Pi Sorority. The members of the M.P.A.A. would probably have heart attacks today trying to rate this film, as you just don't see so many naked breasts in today's R-rated flicks. [Editor's note: For whatever reason, boobs is just a fun word to write. Try it yourself sometime. Boobs, boobs...]
H.O.T.S. is available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. The disc contains the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions), and includes the original theatrical trailer. The transfer for this film is better than you'd expect... the images are crisp and clear and free of artifacts. Give Anchor Bay a lot of credit for continually restoring and releasing the smaller films out there. If you enjoy this type of campy fun, then this is a good disc to add to your library. [R]
Reviewed by Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com AOL Instant Messenger: FilmJax The Jacksonville Film Journal - http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/
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