“Rock ‘N’ Roll High School” is like, the veritable predecessor for other great films such as “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” and “Singles.” It’s right in that same vein… I really liked this movie instantly. Usually stuff has to grow on me, or mentally harass me till I go see it again. But this show had me SOLD upon first viewing. I think my immediate acceptance of this movie had something to do with that live concert footage, and all the subliminal stuff that goes on during the course of the movie. (Incidentally, I heard that concert went on forever during the filming of the movie to get it “just right.” This is kind of funny because if you know ANYTHING about the Ramones, you know their songs are on average, about sixty seconds long, each.) It’s a classic case-study of the student body rebelling against the administrative dictatorship which is enforced by the principal, other school officials, and especially the hall monitors. The student body, lead by punkadelic Riff Randall, portrayed by PJ Soles of “Halloween,” (and a bunch of other movies I don’t remember the names of right this instant), manages to come out on top after having been oppressed musically, and creatively by “the man,” Miss Togar. Miss Togar is on a crusade to put an end to this re-emerging thing called rock ‘n’ roll, and she wants to make an example out of Riff and her friends. This movie has a lot of good qualities, being that it is so lighthearted, and it’s actually pretty funny… I kinda think this movie might have been just a little bit before its time with some of the humor, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. I can’t forget to mention that there are several scenes which feature the actual band members of the Ramones (as other punk bands have come and gone, members have died or moved on, sold out or whatever, the Ramones have remained actively involved in the punk rock scene for what seems like, a REALLY long time). This makes this movie totally cool (if you’re hip to the nostalgia of it) because back in those days, you couldn’t just turn on MTV and see your favorite band on television. I gotta tellya, one of the best things about this movie is the fact that it has so much to offer on the soundtrack. The soundtrack is a “must-have” if you are a fan of this movie. So maybe, you could rent it, and do whatever it is you do when you watch comedies, and have a few laughs, and dig the people wearin’ legwarmers in conjunction with high heels and the nostalgia of punk records…
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur0501724/comments
