Mindless, nonsensical and dopey are adjectives that adequately describe this Roger Corman production, but it’s so much damn fun that, frankly, who cares about any of those things?
Rock N Roll High School (1979) Trailer
The film initially proposed by Corman was DISCO HIGH, but director Allan Arkush, who was employed as a trailer editor at Corman’s New World Pictures, smartly steered his boss toward rock ‘n’ roll. A famous band was sought to headline the film, with the ultimate choice dictated primarily by Corman’s budget: The Ramones, who weren’t even technically speaking a rock ‘n’ roll band (they leaned more toward punk) but, with their nonsensical lyrics and high energy presentation, turned out to be an excellent fit.
Patterned after Lindsay Anderson’s anarchic classic IF… (1968), ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL centers on the teenaged Ramones fanatic Riff Randell (the 28 year old P.J. Soles), who’s written a song she’s convinced is ideal for her favorite band. She attends Vince Lombardi High (filmed in part at Mira Costa High School, my alma mater), ruled by the evil Principal Togar (Mary Woronov), who hates rock ‘n’ roll and especially the Ramones—whose tunes, as she conclusively demonstrates, cause mice to explode.
PJ Soles, Joey Ramone
It seems the Ramones are set to play in LA, inspiring Riff to turn up at the venue a few days in advance so she can be first in line. She makes sure to ask for days off at school because, she claims, her mother, father and goldfish have died (apparently “these things always happen in threes”). At the concert, whose attendees include a giant earmuff wearing mouse, Riff’s nerdy friend Kate (Dey Young), the jock (Vincent Van Patten) with whom Kate is in love, and the school’s hip music teacher Mr. McGree (Paul Bartel), Riff succeeds in handing off the song lyrics to Joey Ramone.
Back at school things have gotten especially bad, with Togar burning Ramones records in a bonfire. This causes a full-scale rebellion, with the Ramones turning up to play Riff’s song, mice exploding, cafeteria workers tied up and pelted with food, and the school literally blown up.
The film can be viewed as a sequel of sorts to HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (1976), a Corman cheapie comprised largely of stock footage from earlier New World productions that was co-directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante. Arkush and Dante were given a “Story By” credit on ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, and evidently had plenty of joint influence on the finished product, which replicates the anarchic spirit of the earlier film and features several of its cast members, including Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov and Dick Miller. Dante even directed a portion of ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL himself after Arkush was hospitalized for exhaustion.
Many other important names worked on this film, including Dante’s frequent producing partner Michael Finnell, future AIRPLANE! co-director Jerry Zucker and producer Jon Davison as second unit directors, JURASSIC PARK cinematographer Dean Cundey as DOP and the legendary make-up effects artist Rob Bottin (who wasn’t yet twenty) credited with designing the giant mouse (while James Cameron, according to the imdb, was given uncredited employment as a production assistant).
Being a comedy, the film ultimately lives or dies on one question: is it funny? Thankfully the answer is yes. Comedic highlights include a scene involving a blow-up doll that smacks its user when he gets fresh and Mr. McGree’s characterization of the Ramones as “the Beethovens of our time.” For that matter, the Ramones’ acting is pretty damn hilarious, although their awesome last minute rendition of the title song makes up for any shortcomings they might exhibit.
The film was sequalized in 1991, as the straight-to-video ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER, and was given an Allan Arkush directed prequel in the form of the made-for-Showtime SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROCK!, with Woronov reprising her role from the first film and P.J. Soles and Dey Young playing their characters’ mothers. My advice: stick with the original.
Vital Statistics
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL
New World Pictures
Director: Allan Arkush
Producer: Michael Finnell
Screenplay: Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, Joseph McBride
Cinematography: Dean Cundey
Editing: Larry Bock, Gail Werbin
Cast: P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov, Paul Bertel, Dick Miller, Don Steele, Alix Elias, Daniel Davies, Loren Lester, Lynn Farrell, Herbie Braha, Grady Sutton, the Ramones