ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
P.J. Soles ("Halloween") is cheerleader Riff Randell, the biggest fan of the Ramones, who has served detention more than any other high-schooler in history. All Riff wants to do is sing to the Ramones, play the music in her hand-held tape recorder, and dance like a maniac. All the high-schoolers at Vince Lombardi High are prone to rock and roll and not much else, thus causing the school to have the worst academic standing in California. Enter Miss Togar (Mary Woronov), the newly elected principal who wants to burn all rock and roll records, including albums by the Ramones, and wants to stimulate the kids to learn. Togar refers to the burning of LP's as her "Final Solution."
The student body is full of goofy students, some smarter than others. Eaglebauer (Clint Howard) is a relatively laid-back student who occupies an office in the boys' room (and has a secretary) and can get the students anything they want. Football player and ashamedly virginal Tom (Vincent Van Patten) wants to get laid as soon as possible, and is hoping for a date with Riff in a tricked-out van that could only belong to the 1970's period. Kate Rambeau (Dey Young) is a bright student (and also a virgin) who is hoping for a date with Tom. And we get two obedient monitors, Hansel and Gretel (Loren Lester and Daniel Davies), who are appointed by Miss Togar to spy on the classmates and make they sure are learning and not singing and dancing.
Most of "Rock 'n' Roll High School" is harmless fun and is roughly as innocent as "Grease." Gone is any of the bawdy, gross-out humor (by late 1970's standards, anyway) of "Animal House." In fact, these teenage kids have no ambitions or desires except to get laid and listen to the Ramones. They are not idealists - they just want to party. And the parents of these kids are unseen - the only adults seen are the teachers at Vince Lombardi High.
That is what makes the ending a bit vexing. Riff and her high-school peers rename the school "Rock 'n' Roll High" and get the Ramones to play, thus forcing the staff and faculty out and maintaining their independent spirit. So why blow up the school? Yep, it is a punk and rock and roll thing to do (and I can safely say that such a scene could not appear in 2012, especially post-Colombine, and without repercussions) but why does Miss Togar have to be committed to a mental institution?
As I said, "Rock 'n' Roll High School" has a jolly, festive frame of mind and has a few comedic bits that made me laugh. The Ramones give us full-frontal, locked and loaded punk music designed to shatter your eardrums (Riff gets her own composed song by them, hence the title of the film). P.J. Soles is a dynamo on screen, exuding the qualities of a lively girl who wants to have fun. Mary Woronov is a campy delight as Miss Togar, as is the late Paul Bartel ("Eating Raoul") who has a priceless scene as a seemingly strict, Beethoven-loving teacher who decides to attend a Ramones concert. But the blowing up the school bit seems to come out of nowhere. It is depicted as a shallow, meaningless act with no hint of real rebellion or aggression - the explosions occur on cue and the band keeps playing. It is saying, "Aw shucks, these silly kids today."
