So, before watching this documentary, I had never heard of the “Pom-Pom Mom.” In the same breath, I was also born in 1992 and this case started in the late 80’s and the court case started in 1991. Still, I would have heard about it in a wrap up into the 2000’s. Alas, I did not, so I was excited to learn something new. This doc had a twist though. The linchpin to this doc was Wanda Holloway’s daughter, Shanna, was speaking for the first time about the case. So now, I’m invested all the way.
My excitement waned as I continued to watch this doc. Maybe I was bored because no hitman was actually hired. Maybe I was bored because everything seemed very low stakes. Maybe I was bored because it was over her child not making the cheerleading squad. Honestly, I think Shanna bored me. If you introduce a documentary and say, “Hey, we have the reason for this case in thee doc,” you’d think that that person would tell us something remarkable. The only thing Shanna told us was that she never really wanted to be a cheerleader but her mom would not let her quit, and towards the end of the doc, she reveals that her mom asked her how she would feel if the Heaths disappeared. That was all she told us that no one knew. This added nothing to the documentary. The doc also did this weird thing where Shanna would say things and they would have the girl who was reenacting scenes say those lines but it never looked right. They’d so a close up on her lips and she’d say, verbatim, what Shanna was saying to the interviewer. For example, Shanna would say, “I told my mom that I didn’t want to cheer anymore. It wasn’t worth it.” The girl in the reenactment would say exactly that. Those scenes were weird and unnecessary.
No one in the doc seemed to add to the doc. I wanted some supplementary information. Some behind the scenes stuff. Maybe add the dad or some interviews with Uncle Terry, who went to the police on Wanda. Interview a relative of the Heaths, who were the target. Another Holloway family member. Anything! I got Wanda’s lawyer, Shanna, a woman who wrote a book about Wanda’s case, and some of Shanna’s neighbors and friends. Honestly, this whole doc could have been a 30 minute episode on one of those true crimes series. It did not need an entire documentary.
I’d watch it if you’ve never heard of the case, but you can also Google it and do just as well.
