Il liceo del rock 'n' roll

Miss Togar is the new principal at Vince Lombardi High, and she's determined to stamp out the scourge of rock n roll rebellion plaguing the halls. The students are determined to party, get high, find a date and rock out to the Ramones!

P.J. Soles (from CARRIE and HALLOWEEN) stars as the Ramones-obsessed student Riff Randell, with Dey Young as her nerdy best friend Kate Rambeau, Vincent Van Patten as the sex-starved quarterback in love with Riff, Clint Howard as the entrepreneurial Eagelbauer, the wonderful Mary Woronov as Miss Togar, her frequent co-star Paul Bartel as the music teacher, Dick Miller as a cop, fx genius Rob Bottin as a giant rat, and Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Marky Ramone as themselves.

This is campy, stupid, anarchic fun, at times crude and witless, but never slow or boring, with some inspired moments and a few clever camera tricks. The "teenagers" are all too old, and of course, not everyone will like the music. But with the right mood, or with the intoxicants of your choice, a good time may be had. Sadly, Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee are all deceased now, so it's nice to see them in their prime again. And watch for the great comedic character actor Grady Sutton in his last role.

"Rock 'n' Roll High School" is clearly a bad film. The acting ranges from very bad to very broad--and there isn't much else. The plot is practically non-existent. And, the film is just cheap--very, very cheap--which isn't surprising since it's a Roger Corman film. Corman managed to make a ton of money on nearly every one of his 400 or so films--mostly because with minuscule budgets, it was practically impossible NOT to make money! So when you watch the film, don't expect an Oscar-contender! It's just a very cheap film that was intended for a very narrow audience...teens. But it's also a cult film--one that has some very devoted fans. While I don't think the film is wonderful, it's far more than just a cheap-o film--there are some things about it that are actually rather enjoyable.

The film is set at Vince Lombardi High School. The principal is a fun-hating fascist and the students are mostly interested in sex, drugs and rock and roll. And, that really is THE plot of the film--in addition to including the punk group The Ramones. I am a huge Ramones fan and STILL am amazed they agreed to do the movie. After all, they had no respect for authority (that was their shtick) and yet here they appear in a film that is filled with LOTS of lameness. Lame...very lame. But it's nice they were in the film because although there isn't a plot, it is nice to hear their songs--and many of their best songs. My advice is to ignore the plot, listen to the songs and enjoy the goofy moments. My favorite goofy parts were every minute Clint Howard was in the film as well as every time a mouse appeared as well! You just have to see the film to understand what I mean.

Overall, for enjoyability I'd give this one a 7. For quality of production, perhaps a 2. Overall, a 5 seems reasonable. Now the film is NOT for all tastes. There is lots of inappropriate behavior by the teens, so I assume a lot of folks wouldn't understand the film. Also, if you are a young person who knows little of the late 70s, you'll probably just laugh at the ridiculous fashions and dopiness of the film. BUT, if you are a middle-aged guy like me who thinks the Ramones are one of the greatest groups in history, then are you in for a treat!

And this is a great rock'n'roll movie in itself. No matter how it evolved (at point being a movie about disco), it ended up as one of the ultimate movies in which kids want to rock out, but the principal stands in their way. Think back to those rock'n'roll movies of the 50's in which the day is saved when Alan Freed comes to town with Chuck Berry to prove that Rock & Roll Music is really cool and safe for the kids, and Tuesday Weld gets a new sweater for the dance. Forward to the 1979, repeat the same plot, but throw in DA RAMONES, whom no one then realized would become one of the most influential bands of the next quarter century (and then for the obligatory DJ guest shot, "The Real" Don Steele). Throw in, too, all the elements of a Roger Corman-produced comedy-exploitation film, except for the two-day shooting schedule, some of the familiar Corman repertory players like Clint Howard, Mary Wournow and Dick Miller (there since "Bucket of Blood"), and you've got one of the great stoopid movies of the day. One of the few films that uses deliberate cheesiness and gets away with it. I showed the new DVD to a friend who could only remember seeing parts of it through a stoner- induced haze at the drive-in, and he agreed that this is one of the great movies to be watching drunk, not the least for the lovely leading ladies and the great Ramones footage.

It's amazing that actress P.J. Soles didn't become a big star after playing Riff Randell, #1 fan of the punk rock group the Ramones, in "Rock 'n' Roll High School". Soles is so exuberant, you don't mind she's obviously too old to still be a student in high school (that fact is leveled out by having all the kids look 25). The movie is a fast-paced frolic that doesn't cop-out; everything gets blown to smithereens at the end, and that's just as it should be. Mary Woronov, a kinky and funny presence as the Nazi-like principal, gets a great, one-of-a-kind bit at the beginning where Frisbees fly dangerously close to her head (how many takes did they use on that, or was it a fluke?) and Dey Young is very appealing as Randell's best friend, Kate Rambeau. The weakest link, ironically enough, in this "High School" chain-gang is the Ramones. They can't act, they're not funny, and their concert segment goes on too long. One Ramones song, "I Want You Around", is treated as a fantasy and is well-captured; other incidental songs are good, particularly a rare Paul McCartney ballad, "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" Great fun! *** from ****

Well, I have finally caught up with "Rock 'N' Roll High School," almost 30 years after it first became a midnight movie sensation in 1979. (Latecomer that I am, I will probably first see this summer's new documentary "Patti Smith: Dream of Life" sometime around 2040!) And no, the film doesn't feel dated one bit, and yes, it was worth the wait. This is a very high-energy comedy that features loads of great music and some surprising moments. It tells the story of Riff Randell, adorably played by P.J. Soles, and the battle that she and her fellow students at Vince Lombardi High wage against their new repressive principal, Miss Togar. (Danny Peary, in his book "Cult Movies," quite accurately describes Mary Woronov's performance as an "evil Eve Arden.") A typical teens vs. Establishment story line is beefed up here with some absurdist humor (those exploding mice, that giant mouse, the Hansel and Gretel hall monitors) and some truly rousing tunes. Riff is, of course, the #1 fan of that original punk band The Ramones, and that band dishes out a baker's dozen of its greatest songs during the course of the film, including five at a concert that is a total blast. Indeed, the sight of Riff furiously dancing to "Teenage Lobotomy" at this blowout may be the picture's funniest moment. And the initial appearance of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky in their Ramonesmobile, and later slinking down a street singing "I Just Wanna Have Something To Do," is quite exhilarating. The film ends with an explosive confrontation that is, I would imagine, every high school kid's wet dream. Fun stuff indeed. On a side note, The Ramones were one of the loudest bands that I have ever seen in concert, so I was very amused to note that the DVD for this film comes with optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired. How many aging punks out there found these subtitles necessary, I wonder....