Image: Timothy Conigrave in Europe, 1985.
There’s not much to cheer about here – this film drops the ball in every aspect.
Poms has a cute premise: a group of older women in a retirement community decide to form a cheer squad and compete in a national cheerleading competition. That all the other competing teams are much younger, more flexible, and can achieve circus style feats does not phase this motley crew of six who can barely bend at the hip. That should have been a good core for a charming, humorous story, but instead, the lack-lustre script is choked with bad jokes, flat personalities, an un-thrilling plot arc, and underwhelming performances.
Diane Keaton, who plays the main character, Martha, seems like she’d rather be anywhere else. Everyone else is equally dull, except Jacki Weaver who plays sparky, salacious Sheryl. Unfortunately, her character is just a compound of cliche with some of the sassy humour bordering on tasteless.
The editing is awful and there’s a b-grade quality to the whole film. Poms bombs.
★ ½
Reviewed by Rita Bratovich
