El primer grito del rock

"Shout" is another nostalgic tale of when the rock n'roll seemed to corrupt hearts and minds of the 1950's youth with rebel singers, noisy sound and plenty of energy, commonly misunderstood by people of other generations.

In it, John Travolta plays an music teacher new in this small town whose goal is to teach some kids from a juvenile detention to play music for a 4th of July event. Among them there's the most rebel of hearts Jesse (Jamie Walters) constantly causing trouble to everybody and always getting reprehension from director Euegene Benedict (Richard Jordan). What could possibly calm down his behavior? The introduction of the rock n'roll and Benedict's daughter Sara (Heather Graham).

Good spirited, hugely well-intentioned like few films can be in this day and age, "Shout" nicely presents the youth's inconformity under the rigid authority of people who preach decadent values and also the joy in discovering new things, like different music and the first love. Yes you'd probably seen this time in "American Graffitti", "Dead Poets Society" which are excellent and far superior than this small film, but the movie goes so nice, so easy and so filled of good things that one can easily let yourself go with no excessive critics about it. The lack of profundity in the main character annoys a little, I mean, what about Jesse's past? We've only seen him right on the first scene disturbing people's peace and that's it, he's taken (again, probably) to the farm house and more punishment and detention.

Romance is fine, the couple is very good looking and they act well the comedy bits are OK, Travolta is quite good in one of his best films during the awful break of strange projects before being resurrected by Tarantino. However, Richard Jordan is what makes the film worth watching, throwing away all the excesses characters like the one plays here tend to make. He makes of this unsympathetic character someone likable, you really understand why he believes in pushing those boys to hard work, and it's a man who really loves his daughter. He's tyrannic, imposes his authority but he's good in essence. Jordan, who mainly played villains in his career, steps down from this path and makes of Benedict a good character that has his tough moments. Clearly, the best in show.

This is not as bad as people say, it's quite underrated and a fun to watch. 7/10

After just seeing the movie Shout for the first time, I came away with a feel good impression. Basic plot but fun to watch. John Travolta stars as a music teacher on a Boys Farm in 1955 Texas. James Walters aka Jamie Walters from 90210 fame, plays a boy sent to the boys ranch who is really a good kid at heart. John's character introduces them to rock n roll while he is their music teacher and the movie takes off from there. There is good music, a good moral and this is probably the first film for Gwenyth Paltrow. Heather Graham is also in this movie and all are young! Fun to watch, not a lot of bad language or violence and it teaches kids they have to pay the piper when they do something wrong but sticking it out gets them what they want in the end, Have fun!

This is not an awful film but it is really really bad on many levels. It is supposed to be a period piece and yet cares nothing at all about the period or authenticity. An odd mix of Footloose and Dead Poet's Society without any of the pathos that either of those films offer. It is hard to believe that Hollywood made this as a major motion picture. Any producer who was near this should be ashamed for life. This is not an unappreciated gem this is a pile of excrement. IF you want to see a film of no substance with John Travolta and some cute boys and cute girls being silly, go for it. If you are looking for a cute 80's style movie with great music this is not it. There is a reason this film was a flop when it debuted. I cannot stress enough how bad this film is. It is an insult to the era, and to the audience.

I have to agree with Maltin on this one. It stunk like crazy. Travolta a music teacher in a all boys school was an admirable feat, but not really that well pulled off. The interplay between the boys school and the girls school was trite and too precious at times but we did have some really nice girls to look at (Graham, Paltrow) unfortunately they looked like they were ready to be housewives of the 50s rather than teenagers, sometimes frumpy and few moments where they actually looked like they were not haggard students. As well the boys looked like they were living in a shanty town in comparison to the girls The finer points of the film were seeing Richard Jordan, an actor that I think was underrated in our time, unfortunately his role of strict school master almost mirrored his role of strict orphan director from another bomb he was in "Solarbabies", only slightly less sadistic. However if you choose to rent or (If your really lucky) catch this on cable listen carefully to the DJ on their radio, you just might recognize him, yet another underrated actor that was at least was fortunate to be heard and not seen in this movie.

Here's a chance to see some smooth moves out of John Travolta, dancing with the lovely Linda Fiorentino. There's a great soundtrack that's apparently impossible to find at less than sky-high prices. There's an impressive early performance by Glenn Quinn, who died too young, and a look at Heather Graham and Gwyneth Paltrow when they were still fresh-faced ingénues. The setting is a little bit "Last Picture Show" meets "Cider House Rules" and there's an interesting surface skim of race and class structure in the '50's. The story line could have been meatier, but having spent two hours today with "Ultraviolet," I was grateful enough for the linear progression.