Review
ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL
Starring PJ Soles, Clint Howard and The Ramones
Directed by Allan Arkush
Saturday Octber 18
Globe Cinema
After receiving orders to pass along an important message, two hall monitors burst out of a high school principal’s office. One of them races down the hallway with his message, while the other hangs back and lights a cigarette, casually folding his copy of the message into a paper airplane. He tosses it out a window, where it begins a bewilderingly complex journey.
The camera follows the airplane as it whooshes in and out of classrooms, zipping through newly opened windows and even making an impossible shortcut into a locker before emerging from another locker 50 feet away. It reaches its destination and lodges in the ear of the music teacher, played impeccably by Paul Bartel. Bartel plucks out the projectile with a wet pop and unfolds the message, while dryly delivering the punchline to this oh-so-elaborate gag:
"Hmm. Ear mail."
The scene is one of the surreal highlights of Rock ’n’ Roll High School, the oft-imitated 1979 cult classic featuring punk rock legends The Ramones. Silliness and loud music are served up in equal measure as heroine Riff Randall (P.J. Soles) stirs up trouble for the tyrannical new principal of Vince Lombardi High (played with glacial sternness by Mary Woronov). Riff cuts classes in order to buy Ramones tickets, writes songs she hopes the group will play and dreams of romancing Joey Ramone. Meanwhile, impromptu musical numbers erupt every few minutes, as Riff plays loud music and everybody dances. The evil principal gets her comeuppance, the Ramones do their thing, the school blows up and the kids all cheer.
Rock ’n’ Roll High School is practically a love letter to the Ramones, and viewers who aren’t already fans of the group may find the constant idol worship a little tedious (think Spice World). However, the film is littered with moments of wonderfully goofy surrealism (such as the paper airplane scene) that help make the film an undeniably fun experience. At one point, principal Togar explains that she’s against rock music because it’s been scientifically proven to cause laboratory mice to explode. We later learn that the doormen of the Ramones concert are very careful to only admit white mice if they’re wearing adequate ear protection. Safety first.
Those wishing to honour the memory of the late Joey Ramone, as well as those wanting to check out a raucous cult movie, can catch Rock ’n’ Roll High School midnight on October 18th at Globe Cinema as part of CJSW’s annual funding drive. Gabba gabba hey! |
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