Review of Pump Up the Volume (1990) by Kent H — 24 May 2008

[size=3]Pump up the Volume.

1990.

Directed by Allan Moyle.

Sensationalism is nothing new in the overly dramatized high school film. Some times films will break the mold and contain an element of honesty to them, but rarely are they extremely honest. The few films that are 'honest' are painful to watch, Ken Park is a prime example of an honest view of teenage boredom and lust. And while Pump up the Volume is a product of a decade of films where realism was discouraged for fantasy, it falls very comfortably between sensationalism and realism.

?guess who? It's 10:00 o'clock do your parents care where you are??

speaking as one of those kids that's grown up in the suburbs for most of his life, that statement rings a little to close to home, the kids in my class drive nice cars and stay with friends all night. But away from that, onto the film itself. As a high school film it's easily one of the best. Funny yet touching, rebellious yet intuitive but without worthwhile actors and a good script, the film loses impact.

[/size][center][size=3] Pump Up the Volume works it's way through an ensemble cast of characters and while they're only on screen for a few minutes sometimes, they feel like they've just been around for a while, never was I thinking ?wait, where did that guy come from?. True, the film is dramatic, but it still has ring of truth, most teenage dramas and comedies can't claim this, Accepted? Real? No. Accepted is very clichéd in many ways. A prime example of how this film is separates itself from the is the suicide speech, a somber and unconventional moment, a rebel rouser that kind of stings in the truths it speaks about. Because pain is indeed real and suicide does seem simple. Oh, and ?Kick out the jams? blows into a full roar, then it returns to a rather strange scene about homosexuality, an issue often mistreated in films aimed at teens. More often homosexuality is treated as a tool for comedy, as the adults of the film's world scoff and call it.

a stunt.

[/size] [size=3] ?sometimes I wonder why one person is born one way and another person is born another way, so I guess you think I'm a faggot wimp right??[/size].

[/center].

[center][size=3] ?I don't know, that's the big question right?? [/size].

[/center].

[size=3] That's one hell of an exchange, and the moment is sad but hopeful, as ?wave of mutilation? swells into a dull roar in the background, a friend of mine called that moment too hard to watch for him. The moment afterwards is driven by the rip roar of titanium expose by sonic youth, a very appropriate song to play in the background of the mockery of the high school's cardboard counselor Dave Deaver. I love the press conference scene, it's such a great example of how clueless parents are. Or how lovingly knowing they think they are. The romantic element is wonderfully unfulfilled, Slater never has sex, but instead, only strikes a strong feeling for a girl and ends up getting arrested with her in the end of the film.

Yes, the soundtrack is one of the best, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Beastie Boys, Henry Rollins, Beastie Boys? Even Leonard Cohen? Sweet. Music is a big part of the film and it's used well in the context of a scene, the music serves as interludes into different stages of the films, romance is implemented by ?why can't I fall in love??, rebellion implemented by ?Kick out the Jams?. It's odd when the music doesn't hit it's mark. And that's maybe once in the entire film.

I haven't discussed the principal yet, Miss Cresswood,(Annie Ross) plays the perfect sneering archtype. She has so many great moments, her firing is a hilarious moment, and her lines are so intone with Annie Rosses performance. Nora, the other main character of the film is well played by Samantha Mathis, who plays a lonely yet fearless girl who writes erotic poetry. It's one of my favorite films, and the final moment of the films pays it forward, hissing static and many voices speak in the dark, all transmitting freedom into the air.[/size].