User reviews

P.J. Soles lights up the screen as Riff Randle - a fun loving teenager who just wants to listen to her Ramones albums without her evil school principal, Ms. Togar (a hilariously campy Mary Woronov), telling her that she's a bad person for it. Naturally, this pushes Riff to go to desperate lengths to share her love of The Ramones and even gets a hundred of her classmates tickets to their local concert...but will Ms. Togar try to put an end to their fun?

Rock 'n Roll High School is absurdist comedy at its most bizarre. The music of The Ramones adds a nice underscore for the punk rock storyline and general sense of anarchy. All the actors are fun, including the adorable Dey Young and charmingly goofy Vincent Van Patten. Cult icons Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, and Clint Howard are also amusing in their smaller roles.

Turn off your brain, crank up the volume, and have a blast.

Well, I have finally caught up with "Rock 'N' Roll High School," almost 30 years after it first became a midnight movie sensation in 1979. (Latecomer that I am, I will probably first see this summer's new documentary "Patti Smith: Dream of Life" sometime around 2040!) And no, the film doesn't feel dated one bit, and yes, it was worth the wait. This is a very high-energy comedy that features loads of great music and some surprising moments. It tells the story of Riff Randell, adorably played by P.J. Soles, and the battle that she and her fellow students at Vince Lombardi High wage against their new repressive principal, Miss Togar. (Danny Peary, in his book "Cult Movies," quite accurately describes Mary Woronov's performance as an "evil Eve Arden.") A typical teens vs. Establishment story line is beefed up here with some absurdist humor (those exploding mice, that giant mouse, the Hansel and Gretel hall monitors) and some truly rousing tunes. Riff is, of course, the #1 fan of that original punk band The Ramones, and that band dishes out a baker's dozen of its greatest songs during the course of the film, including five at a concert that is a total blast. Indeed, the sight of Riff furiously dancing to "Teenage Lobotomy" at this blowout may be the picture's funniest moment. And the initial appearance of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky in their Ramonesmobile, and later slinking down a street singing "I Just Wanna Have Something To Do," is quite exhilarating. The film ends with an explosive confrontation that is, I would imagine, every high school kid's wet dream. Fun stuff indeed. On a side note, The Ramones were one of the loudest bands that I have ever seen in concert, so I was very amused to note that the DVD for this film comes with optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired. How many aging punks out there found these subtitles necessary, I wonder....

Surprisingly, this film is a continuous stream of fun from minute one to the last. The credit goes to a simple story, correctly executed, with an interesting main character in Riff Randell (even her name is catchy) a popular high school student who never sticks by the rigid rules of the opressive school system and does whatever she pleases, always inciting other fellow students to revolt alongside her. But when the new principal arrives, Miss Evelyn Togar, whom despises rock 'n' roll music and its alteration on youth mentality, Riff encounters a difficult rival to defeat. Because the film deals with that essentially, the struggle between students and school system. One demanding freedom and no more repression, and the other, installing a heavy disciplinary regime in order to put students in line.

The Ramones themselves make a notable appearance, singing the majority of the soundtrack of the movie, being of course their own songs. Riff is their number one fan, and she also happens to write songs, which she intends to show them, one of which it's called Rock 'n' Roll High School. In this student-school system battle, the Ramones join the student side to create an explosive finale.

I highly recommend this film, it's so incredibly fun all the way through. It has now become a cult classic, and if you like the Ramones, well it's a no brainer!

Rock'n'Roll High School is arguably the freshest, fastest, funniest, most ROCK AND ROLL teen movies ever. If you love The Ramones you'll love this one! And hey, if you don't love The Ramones, you're already dead, so get outta here. Halloween's P.J. Soles really hits the spot as The Ramones number one fan Riff Randell, and Clint Howard will always be Eaglebauer to me. No suprise that b-grade legend Roger Corman had a hand in this, and as an added bonus Corman cronies Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel and the God-like Dick Miller round out the supporting cast. Great Ramones set and lots of other cool music featured (MC5, Devo, Eno, Todd and Eddie and the Hot Rods "Teenage Depression") puts this at the top of the Rock'n'Roll heap.

Too cool for school!!

It's amazing that actress P.J. Soles didn't become a big star after playing Riff Randell, #1 fan of the punk rock group the Ramones, in "Rock 'n' Roll High School". Soles is so exuberant, you don't mind she's obviously too old to still be a student in high school (that fact is leveled out by having all the kids look 25). The movie is a fast-paced frolic that doesn't cop-out; everything gets blown to smithereens at the end, and that's just as it should be. Mary Woronov, a kinky and funny presence as the Nazi-like principal, gets a great, one-of-a-kind bit at the beginning where Frisbees fly dangerously close to her head (how many takes did they use on that, or was it a fluke?) and Dey Young is very appealing as Randell's best friend, Kate Rambeau. The weakest link, ironically enough, in this "High School" chain-gang is the Ramones. They can't act, they're not funny, and their concert segment goes on too long. One Ramones song, "I Want You Around", is treated as a fantasy and is well-captured; other incidental songs are good, particularly a rare Paul McCartney ballad, "Did We Meet Somewhere Before?" Great fun! *** from ****

Miss Togar is the new principal at Vince Lombardi High, and she's determined to stamp out the scourge of rock n roll rebellion plaguing the halls. The students are determined to party, get high, find a date and rock out to the Ramones!

P.J. Soles (from CARRIE and HALLOWEEN) stars as the Ramones-obsessed student Riff Randell, with Dey Young as her nerdy best friend Kate Rambeau, Vincent Van Patten as the sex-starved quarterback in love with Riff, Clint Howard as the entrepreneurial Eagelbauer, the wonderful Mary Woronov as Miss Togar, her frequent co-star Paul Bartel as the music teacher, Dick Miller as a cop, fx genius Rob Bottin as a giant rat, and Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Marky Ramone as themselves.

This is campy, stupid, anarchic fun, at times crude and witless, but never slow or boring, with some inspired moments and a few clever camera tricks. The "teenagers" are all too old, and of course, not everyone will like the music. But with the right mood, or with the intoxicants of your choice, a good time may be had. Sadly, Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee are all deceased now, so it's nice to see them in their prime again. And watch for the great comedic character actor Grady Sutton in his last role.

93 minutes of mindless fun from 1979. So what if P.J. Soles was damn near 30 when this was made...she can rock my high school any time she wants! Now that we're down to only one original Ramone (and even he isn't in this), we have to salute the Boys by watching this movie. It's the way we want to remember 'em best, blowing up a high school.

So screw you Principal Togar, and all your exploding mice! WE JUST WANNA ROCK! P.S.---R.I.P. Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, Mr. McGree, & Screamin' Steve. And if anybody knows whatever happened to Angel Dust (Lynn Farrell-who made 3 movies in 1979 and seems to have dropped off the planet since) please post it on the R&RHS message board.

At Vince Lombardi High School, principal Evelyn Togar (Mary Woronov) maintains a strict anti Rock 'n' Roll stance that doesn't sit well with the students.

Rock 'n' Roll High School is a humorous and very clever homage to the old Rock 'n' Roll films of old but filtered through a contemporary lens. Playing like a mixture of Grease with some of the Shenanigans of Animal House, the movie is a romanticized youth in revolt story that knows exactly what it is. There's some very good comedic work on display including some humorous sight gags, well choreographed dance numbers, and a generally cartoonish approach that makes the movie a joy to sit through. P.J. Soles and Dey Young are endearing and lovable as our leads a Romones fan and science wiz respectively, and there's some very good supporting work from Clint Howard as the High School's black marketeer who operates his business out of the boys room complete with a professional looking office and a secretary. But stealing the scene everytime she's on screen is Mary Woronov as Principal Evelyn Togar. Playing her role like a mixture of a warden from a women in prison movie and a Nazi Commandant , Wornov's performances is delightfully serious and leads to some hillarious gags as she approaches the absurdity of the situation with stone faced seriousness.

The movie's pacing does drag a bit towards the middle as the movie puts its comedy on the back burner in favor of showcasing more of the music, but it makes up for this light lag in pacing with a climax that is so delightfully over the top it'll make even the most cynical of us crack a smile.

Rock 'n' Roll High School is a sincere, heartfelt, but also very silly tribute to not only Rock 'n' Roll, but also to high school and the teenage experience. It's a (mostly) good natured exercise in wish fulfillment that works as both a nostalgia trip and a musical showcase.

A must for any punk rocker, this is the movie that made The Ramones a household name back in the early 1980's (when it first appeared on premium cable stations). This was one of the first and best of the American Punk Rock movies, with a cult classic status up there with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Originally the producers wanted Cheap Trick as the stars, but the release of the "Live At Budakon" album had just made them superstars and too hot an item to be in a low budget movie. Very good luck for the Ramones who were looking to break out of the underground punk rock world and into the mainstream market (which sadly never happened until after the bands demise). The band, Dee Dee especially, always disliked the movie through the 80's but the fans always loved and could recite most of the movie while waiting to get into Ramones shows. This movie, like most classics, is stupid fun with some classic Ramones footage in their heyday. Don't expect more, you won't find it. It's great fun, so enjoy it. Another Allan Arkush classic movie in a similar vein is Get Crazy, featuring Lee Ving from the legendary hardcore punk band Fear.

I probably had a soft-spot reserved for this movie before seeing it. Reasons:

1.) I'm a huge fan of Corman movies. Dick Miller (star of my favorite Corman film, A Bucket of Blood) even makes a cameo.

2.) I like P. J. Soles. She's that classic goofy 70's girl that the 80's just didn't have much use for. Here, I think she does a great job of selling some bad dialogue; y'know, making it seem natural - like something a teenager might actually say.

3.) I'm a big fan of 70's punk. Obviously there's a lot of Ramones music, including a pretty stout/fun live set. Eddie and the Hot Rods, Nick Lowe, and MC5 also make an appearance on the soundtrack. It's not punk, but I'm all for 70's Brian Eno, too.

4.) I like hanging out with B-Movie riff-raff. I knew I was going to feel right at home around the likes of Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel, and Clint Howard.

Outside of that, there's a smattering of tongue-in-cheek humor, just enough odd-ball/weird stuff to keep you off balance, some mildly-transgressive themes, and teenagers sticking it to overbearing authority figures.

So yeah, a solid 6 for B-Movie degenerates. It doesn't exhibit the same degree of negative attention-seeking behavior that 80's Corman or Troma would, and If nothing I mentioned above interests you, you might find yourself falling asleep to it.

"Rock 'n' Roll High School" is clearly a bad film. The acting ranges from very bad to very broad--and there isn't much else. The plot is practically non-existent. And, the film is just cheap--very, very cheap--which isn't surprising since it's a Roger Corman film. Corman managed to make a ton of money on nearly every one of his 400 or so films--mostly because with minuscule budgets, it was practically impossible NOT to make money! So when you watch the film, don't expect an Oscar-contender! It's just a very cheap film that was intended for a very narrow audience...teens. But it's also a cult film--one that has some very devoted fans. While I don't think the film is wonderful, it's far more than just a cheap-o film--there are some things about it that are actually rather enjoyable.

The film is set at Vince Lombardi High School. The principal is a fun-hating fascist and the students are mostly interested in sex, drugs and rock and roll. And, that really is THE plot of the film--in addition to including the punk group The Ramones. I am a huge Ramones fan and STILL am amazed they agreed to do the movie. After all, they had no respect for authority (that was their shtick) and yet here they appear in a film that is filled with LOTS of lameness. Lame...very lame. But it's nice they were in the film because although there isn't a plot, it is nice to hear their songs--and many of their best songs. My advice is to ignore the plot, listen to the songs and enjoy the goofy moments. My favorite goofy parts were every minute Clint Howard was in the film as well as every time a mouse appeared as well! You just have to see the film to understand what I mean.

Overall, for enjoyability I'd give this one a 7. For quality of production, perhaps a 2. Overall, a 5 seems reasonable. Now the film is NOT for all tastes. There is lots of inappropriate behavior by the teens, so I assume a lot of folks wouldn't understand the film. Also, if you are a young person who knows little of the late 70s, you'll probably just laugh at the ridiculous fashions and dopiness of the film. BUT, if you are a middle-aged guy like me who thinks the Ramones are one of the greatest groups in history, then are you in for a treat!

This movie gets a 10 because it's the Ramone's movie... and Alan Arkush...

I saw this around 1980 when it first came out. I was in High School myself and could relate to some of the rebellious shenanigans pictured in this film. So right off the bat, this low budget affair already had elevated itself from other teen rebellion films. Another favourable move was to make the issue of trying to figure out how to date a girl a major plot point. This was another thing I could relate to. Some genuine laughs occur as the school wheeler-dealer (Clint Howard - looking closer to 'Gentle Ben' age) gives the school hunk lessons. All that despite the PG rating.

Then there are the Ramones. I read in the IMDb trivia page that several very high profile bands were approached to appear in the film. Bands like DEVO, Cheap Trick, even Van Halen might of been the major characters. Luckily, they all blew their chance because the film would have been more about the charismatic and popular members than the high school students. Instead the Ramones, very introverted and seemingly camera shy, were just about the music. Although my high school friend was heavily into the Ramones and had a few of their albums, it was the on screen performances that got me hooked.

Over 30 years later, with Joey Ramone gone, I was able to appreciate his pure talent as a songwriter. In other words, the real formula for success for this band wasn't attitude, presence, the hair, or being at the right point in music history to make a breakthrough. Instead it was Joey's ability to write very catchy songs and lyrics. All the songs featured in the film are equally classics. That is certainly one of the reasons why the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I finally got to see the band live in front of perhaps 100,000 people at a Lalapalooza show in the late 90s. Playing alongside Soundgarden, Metallica, amongst other big names, they held their own with the audience.

The best thing about this film is that it refuses to stop a joke short. Each gag scene in the film seems inspired (my favourite is the lunch ladies being punished by being bombarded with their crappy food). Performances are also energetic and the editing crisp. There are no dead spots in this brisk film. For anyone older than junior high or high school age, for sure this film is a bit immature. Even so, memories of your days in high school are relatable with some poignant reflections of what hell it was during that time (like a dorky kid being stuffed inside a locker.) The climax of the film benefits from real pyrotechnics and of course great music.

An extremely silly and overdone comedy, the film is nevertheless still reasonably entertaining, as the songs are good, the characters are relatively fun to watch, and there are some genuine laughs along the way. The film has a thing or two to say as a cultural study and an examination of teenage rebellion, but whatever messages may be there are weak, for the film does not take itself too seriously, presenting many events and ideas that are plain out ridiculous. Also, it would have been nice to get to know the characters a bit better, but then were the filmmakers really trying to do something better than a run-of-the-mill high school set film, or were they just out to have fun, like their characters are? This is not a bad film either way, and arguably it is worth checking out, but it would take a lot of guts to call this a good film.

I have to say that I was really surprised by this movie. It's a lot of fun, especially for fans of Eating Raoul....(Paul Bartel as an uptight music teacher who really loosens up to the Ramones and Mary Woronov as an insane principal with a real vendetta against rock n' roll, and the Ramones in particular). The movie is so high-spirited that I didn't mind its cheesy, ultra low budget look. The Ramones themselves looked pretty bewildered most of the time (especially Joey) but somehow they fit in to the high energy level of the other actors (especially P.J. Soles, who really should have made more movies) and the various shenanigans, many of which are pretty bizarre.

The story, such as it is, revolves around a high school kid - PJ Soles - who is obsessed with the Ramones. She is a budding songwriter. Skips school to get tickets to the Ramones show. Side story is a blonde kid - Vince Van Patten from the World Poker Tour - wanting to get laid. There's also a fun-hating principal.

On that skeleton of a movie they hang an excuse to have the Ramones perform a bunch of songs.

And that makes for a lot of fun.

I'm not even a Ramones fan, as such. Then or now. I was - and still am - into The Who. Which is pretty close if you go by the scale they use during the ''this is your mouse on rock & roll" experiment: Ramones are on top, naturally, then The Who, Rolling Stones, Ted Nugent, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kansas, Donnie & Marie, Debbie Boone, Pat Boone, Muzak.

The Ramones at their most popular ran counter to disco. Would you call them punk? Proto-punk? I bet there isn't a single band from the grunge era that wasn't inspired or influenced by The Ramones. Indeed, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam said at their induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002: "For the whole Seattle community...they were our Beatles."

Who can't enjoy a movie full of fun 2:15 songs, PJ Soles in her underwear, and a dynamite finish.

This was a fun movie at the drive-in in the 80s. And it's a fun movie now.

And this is a great rock'n'roll movie in itself. No matter how it evolved (at point being a movie about disco), it ended up as one of the ultimate movies in which kids want to rock out, but the principal stands in their way. Think back to those rock'n'roll movies of the 50's in which the day is saved when Alan Freed comes to town with Chuck Berry to prove that Rock & Roll Music is really cool and safe for the kids, and Tuesday Weld gets a new sweater for the dance. Forward to the 1979, repeat the same plot, but throw in DA RAMONES, whom no one then realized would become one of the most influential bands of the next quarter century (and then for the obligatory DJ guest shot, "The Real" Don Steele). Throw in, too, all the elements of a Roger Corman-produced comedy-exploitation film, except for the two-day shooting schedule, some of the familiar Corman repertory players like Clint Howard, Mary Wournow and Dick Miller (there since "Bucket of Blood"), and you've got one of the great stoopid movies of the day. One of the few films that uses deliberate cheesiness and gets away with it. I showed the new DVD to a friend who could only remember seeing parts of it through a stoner- induced haze at the drive-in, and he agreed that this is one of the great movies to be watching drunk, not the least for the lovely leading ladies and the great Ramones footage.

Just imagine what school would have been like in a world like this: the kids are one big gang who have really good taste in music and unite against bad headmasters and teachers. "Rock 'N' Roll High School" is taking place in that world. It's like a Ramones record coming to life. The characters are all as silly, innocent and charming as the Ramones' songs, and the music itself is, of course, fantastic. High school comedies have really changed over the years, if you compare a movie like "American Pie" with this late 70's classic, where no tasteless sex jokes are made at all. Since a remake is apparently in the works, it can probably be expected that the charm of the original will get lost along the way and will get replaced by vulgar, half-funny dick jokes, as Bill Hicks used to call them. However, the main problem will be that the Ramones CANNOT be replaced. They were the perfect band for this movie and no one else could even come close to taking their place. So, the best thing to do would be to leave the original alone, as quirky and charming as it is. Gabba-gabba hey!

I have been a Ramones fan since high school and somehow had never seen this movie. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this. It's just completely ridiculous. I don't understand Clint Howard's character at all. Is he a student? I think I might like it better the second time, if that ever happens. In my opinion the worst thing about the movie was all the music. They play the entire soundtrack and a dozen other songs. I would have preferred short clips of the songs.

What on earth is there not to like about this - greatest band ever, a Ramones concert was like being pummelled in the face with a steam-roller, thank god they were short - Take it, Dee Dee

This movie is kind of like revenge of the nerds, ferris bulers day off, fast times at ridgemont high ect. except its not as good as any of the ones listed above. It is ok, but not great mostly because I HATE the ramone's and there music is all over this moive. But still not too bad of a flick and it has some really funny parts. Overall 6/10

If you're not a fan of the post disco music scene that The Ramones represented you're probably not going to like Rock "N" Roll High School. And if you do nothing that I or any other reviewer says will influence you in the slightest degree.

There's no plot in this anarchistic film by Roger Corman, but that's part of the fun. It involves new school principal Miss Togar from the Ilsa Koch's Buchenwald school of education trying to restore some discipline to Vince Lombardi High School.

Her main opponent is P.J. Soles who has dedicated her life to spreading the gospel of The Ramones to her peers. But in Mary Woronov as principal Togar, she's got a ruthless adversary.

There's a subplot going involving young Vincent Van Patten looking for some sex from somewhere. Here it gets a bit ridiculous because I can't believe Vincent Van Patten couldn't get any female or gay male if that was what he might want. He plays the same kind of goofy teenager that David Cassidy did on The Partridge Family.

Of course all this is an excuse to play a whole lot of Ramone songs including the title song of this film. Stylistically Rock 'N' Roll High School borrows from A Hard Day's Night and from Grease and the mix is good.

It ain't exactly my kind of music and it's not O'Neill or Shakespeare, but the film is amusing and harmless.

And the ending is the dream of a lot of teenagers.