Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) Reviews

It’s a pretty fun and rare treat to watch a hugely influential band use their clout to make a film so obviously designed for cult status and fringe worship. But what else would one expect from the Ramones?

Rock ‘n’ Roll High School does little to update the kids-against-the-adults formula of the rock-orientated high school musical. The stern principal who constantly tries to outlaw their fun and musical choices, the rebellious lead and nerdy sidekick, the hot boyfriend for the nerdy sidekick – all of them are present and accounted for. As are other various personality types and plot shenanigans from dozens of other films which have been distilled down to their purest form here.

It brings nothing new to the table, but it’s pretty solidly made and features two central performances which go a long way to selling the whole thing outright. P.J. Soles is pretty adorable and energetic as obsessive Ramones fan and PG-rated rebellious hellion Riff Randell, which is a great name. Much of the movie’s success or failure rests on her ability to make this loopy, bratty, goofy character seem believable and likeable and she nails each and every turn. She also seems to find the kitsch value and frequently appears to be sticking her tongue in her cheek. On the flip side is Mary Woronov as Miss Evelyn Togar, the school’s newest principal and main antagonist. Woronov plays the part up with a campy relish that is normally only seen in Disney villains, drag queens or John Waters films.

The Ramones themselves are mostly glimpsed as fantasy figures or onstage for most of their running time, kept mainly as a plot device and driving engine for the soundtrack, which is an all killer batch of songs from the Ramones, Devo and other legendary new wave and punk acts of the era. Yet when they’re called in to play up their brain-dead New Yawk personas, they do so with manic glee. And the climatic school takeover is utterly ridiculous and plays into their strengths and lyrical obsessions with outsiders, fun, macabre imagery and a simplistic form of youthful anarchy.

And as wonderfully silly and enjoyable as Rock ‘n’ Roll High School is/was, I can’t help but think of much better and more subversive a film starring the Ramones could’ve and should’ve been. If the directorial duties had been handed over to say, John Waters, I don’t know if the film would have turned out better, but it would have been more daring and original. But what is there is a prime example of zany cult comedy at its finest. Check the giant rodent amongst the revelers at the concert – only in a willfully strange ode to 1950s rock & roll teenage musicals.