Review of Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) by Tim, R — 22 Jan 2005

OK, this is probably a higher rating than contemporary filmgoers would give it, but 10 is what it gets from me.

The first time I ever skipped a class was in high school so that I could see the second half of this movie. The idea that the Ramones could actually be HUGELY popular, even if only in a movie, was tremendously appealing to the only punk fan in my high school (me!). I watched this again recently because End of the Century just hit Oz - hasn't made it up here yet, but should do so soon.

The five song live set towards the end captures the Ramones pretty much perfectly. While their records were good, they were best live. So many bands are like that - makes me sad that I blew out my ears. Oh well, I definitely got my money's worth out of live music, so I can't complain.

So I guess there's two main lessons here: if you're seeing lots of live bands, wear some kind of hearing protection. Unless you plan to stop caring about music in a few years...

And second, if you ever get a chance to see this movie, see it. Yes, it's cheesy, but it's also very funny and the Ramones rule, ok?