The Pom Pom Girls (1976)

The Pom Pom Girls (1976)

[7] The Pom Pom Girls stands out from the grindhouse pack for me. The title is actually a misnomer, as there are precious few moments with any cheerleaders. The movie is really about two high-school boys and their girlfriends making…
The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk (1979)

[6] Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner team up for this absurdist, serendipitous comedy about a poor country boy who leaves his family to discover what the big city has to offer him. Martin's character is an oblivious man-child whose…
Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs (1979)

[5] This dopey but harmless summer camp movie helped lead the charge of '80s teen comedies that would follow in its wake. It's tame by comparison, but noteworthy for being the first pairing of director Ivan Reitman and actor Bill…
Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971)

Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971)

[7] A young man named Smitty (Wendell Burton) goes to prison and immediately falls into a brutal struggle for power and supremacy. He reluctantly enters into a submissive relationship with one of his roommates, a tough guy named Rocky (Zooey…
The Ritz (1976)

The Ritz (1976)

[8] Jack Weston stars in this gay-themed screwball comedy based on a stage play by Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion!). Weston plays a frumpy, middle-aged man hiding out in a New York bath house from a brother (Jerry Stiller) who…
The Hobbit (1977)

The Hobbit (1977)

[7] This American/Japanese animated venture would be the first feature-length movie journey into J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Produced by Rankin/Bass (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Last Unicorn) and animated by the studio that would later become Studio Ghibli, The Hobbit…
Grey Gardens (1975)

Grey Gardens (1975)

[8] Documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles (Gimme Shelter) bring us inside the isolated world of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric aunt and first cousin, 'Big' Edie and 'Little' Edie Beale. The women, 79 and 57 respectively, live in squalor at…
Watership Down (1978)

Watership Down (1978)

[7] Martin Rosen brings to life Richard Adams' novel about a group of rabbits who leave their burrows and face a series of deadly hardships in search of a new home. Watership Down is one of the more serious animated…
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

[7] After the success of Star Wars two years earlier, Paramount was quick to launch their own cinematic foray into outer space with the first Star Trek feature film. Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunites the crew from the TV…
Class of ’44 (1973)

Class of ’44 (1973)

[5] Gary Grimes and Jerry Houser reprise their roles from the emotionally charged Summer of '42 in this lackluster, somewhat pointless follow-up. Whereas Summer of '42 was very much about a young man's sexual awakening with an older woman, Class…