I
wanna be sedated.
"Rock 'n' Roll High School" is
one of my absolute favorite "fun films." It is
pure, unadulterated celebration of life &
freedom of spirit.
In all honesty, there was little if any chance I
would rate this film in the low range. I am a
diehard Ramones fan, and this film not only
features the Ramones but plays their music
throughout the film. To this day, The Ramones
and Stray Cats remains my favorite concert ever.
This film blows away any of the remakes or
follow-ups...never again was a filmmaker or cast
able to capture the innocence, fun and spirit
like this film does.
This special DVD version includes a tribute to
Joey Ramone...I remember feeling such great
sadness the day he died. I sat around singing "I
wanna be sedated" all day long.
There are multiple things I love about this
film...first, all the performances are fun and
lighthearted including PJ Soles, Vince Van
Patten and Dey Young. These characters are not
your traditional characters...perhaps that is
why I love them so much. Vince Van Patten, the
football player, is actually insecure with girls
and awkward socially...what a refreshing change
of pace. PJ Soles, while rebellious, is not
vicious or mean or slutty...she is simply
rebellious. In fact, all the girls are
remarkably diverse in this film. The film
doesn't just pick large breasted, plastic
looking females to play the "hot" teens...you
have females of all shapes and sizes and
ethnicities...all treated in the same manner.
How incredible!
Old Andy Warhol fave Mary Woronov plays the
Principal, and captures just the right spirit.
The entire ensemble cast works together quite
nicely.
The film is directed by Allan Arkush, with
uncredited support by Joe Dante and Jerry Zucker.
(All also worked on the script).
Don't get me wrong...I'm aware that this is not
an award-winning film...to my knowledge it never
won anything. It is a simple, joyous film that
offers the viewer a good time and a bunch of
smiles. The soundtrack? Obviously loaded with
Ramones tunes and a joy to listen to...The
costumes here are so wonderfully late 70s...down
to some of the greatest glasses I've ever seen.
Why couldn't high school have really been like
this?
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
N/A
Jacob
Hall's Comment
N/A
