MOVIE OF THE DAY: ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL

(1979)

The Principles: 

The Ramones, PJ Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel,
Clint Howard, the tight purse strings of Roger Corman

The
Premise: 
When a new principal takes over Vince Lombardi High School, rock music
is endangered. But with the help of plucky young kids, the Ramones, and a
complete school takeover, the rock can still rule.

Is It
Good: 

It’s a
blast. Rock n’
Roll High School is a weird, silly and fun movie
that’s dripping with great music and youthful energy. Corman wanted a
movie that hit the youth market and originally was going to make Disco High
School,
but sounder minds prevailed and we ended up with a paean to mostly
harmless teenage rebellion and the power of rock n’ roll. There’s a
strange innocence to the movie – it has no nudity and fairly little
swearing – that makes it incredibly charming.

The goofy humor is refreshing these
days. You can see the template for self-spoofing teen movies in Rock n’
Roll High School, but this film isn’t cynical,
despite being very sarcastic (although back in the day I think it was
called being a wise-ass). And its cartoonish sensibilities make it the
perfect showcase for The Ramones, as cartoonish a band as ever existed.

Is It
Worth

A Look:  I think
it’s worth a buy, and the Blu-Ray just hit stores (click here to buy it
from CHUD). The movie is a lot of fun to watch but it’s also a really
intriguing bit of cinematic history. Dean Cundey, one of the great
cinematographers of the 80s and 90s, shot the film. Joe Dante directed
some bits of it when director Allan Arkush couldn’t be there. The Zucker
Bros second unit directed a very funny sequence with a paper airplane,
before they went on to make Airplane!. It’s got a zip to it that’s
missing from movies these days, even as shots get shorter and edits get
tighter.

Random
Anecdotes: 

The Ramones cannot act. This could be PJ Soles’ best performance. Clint
Howard’s Eaglebauer influenced a whole generation of dweeby high school
entrepreneurs from Booger to Stiles and beyond. But seriously, The
Ramones cannot act. At all. Famous FX artist Rob Bottin shows up at a
Ramones concert in a big mouse suit. The first time you hear the title
song PJ Soles is singing it for some reason. Paul Bartel is, as always,
perfect.

Cinematc

Soulmates: 
Rock Around the Clock, A Hard Day’s Night, Heavy
Metal Parking Lot, Never Mind the Bollocks