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Rock 'n' Roll High School

Play trailer Poster for Rock 'n' Roll High School PG Released Aug 24, 1979 1h 33m Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A teenager (P.J. Soles) and her friends get even with their principal to music by the Ramones.
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Rock 'n' Roll High School

Critics Reviews

View All (27) Critics Reviews
Dave Kehr Chicago Reader It's more cleverly cut than shot -- which means that it moves quickly and energetically even as the concepts and characters disintegrate. Apr 14, 2009 Full Review Time Out For all its throwaway humour, this is basically just a pleasant reworking of the kids versus adults rock'n'roll movie format of the '50s. Feb 19, 2007 Full Review John Rockwell New York Times The pity is that with a bit more care and flair, it could have been a really sweet little movie. Rated: 2.5/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com It is a simple, joyous film that offers the viewer a good time and a bunch of smiles. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 21, 2020 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Thanks to a superb soundtrack, a quip-packed screenplay (my favorite: "Do your parents know you're Ramones?"), and P.J. Soles' boundless energy, it's near-impossible to resist this film's goofy charms. Rated: 3.5/4 Nov 30, 2019 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed A bonafide love letter to the punk juggernauts that ruled music in the seventies and eighties. Jan 3, 2017 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (669) audience reviews
CodyZamboni Z Cheap, amatuerish, but filled with high energy, PJ Soles is wacky cute , Great to see the Ramones, overall, movie made me nostalgic for 1979 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 11/28/24 Full Review Josh G This is a super fun promotional tool for the band at the time but less of a film and more of a SNL sketch combined with a concert a cult classic but less of a film. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/24 Full Review Ola G Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock 'n' roll and their disregard for education. The leader of the students, Riff Randell (P. J. Soles), is the biggest Ramones fan at the school and also the worst behavioral problem, in that her disciplinary record fills an entire filing cabinet. She waits in line for three days to get tickets to see the band, hoping to meet Joey Ramone so she can give him a song she wrote for the band, "Rock 'n' Roll High School". When the tyrannical Principal Togar takes her ticket away, Riff and her best friend Kate Rambeau have to find another way to meet their heroes: winning a radio contest... This Roger Corman high school musical comedy b-movie is a slight mess with The Ramones as the focal point. Nice to see the charming PJ Soles in the lead, but the rest is quite forgettable. Trivia: Corman originally wanted Cheap Trick or Todd Rundgren to play the band, but due to a conflict of schedules, he was forced to find an alternative. The Ramones were suggested by Paul Bartel, one of the actors in the film. (Via Wikipedia) Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 12/25/23 Full Review Kenneth L I enjoyed this as a kid. Watching it as an adult was good nostalgic fun. It is by no means a good movie, but it is entertaining. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/16/23 Full Review Dave B This fun campy movie brought the Ramones to the fore front. Great movie so many great gags Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/08/23 Full Review Chris M Considering this was a movie to show off the Ramones someone should have told Principal Togar that it's not 1950s any more. Which makes her one note as a villain. The plot is good, not great. At the time of writing the review was the first time first time hearing the Ramones music. I'm impressed. As a vehicle for the Ramones, it does it job well. I wasn't expecting much but I was impressed. It was way better than I expected. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Rock 'n' Roll High School

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Cast & Crew

Roller Boogie 0% 54% Roller Boogie Watchlist Can't Stop the Music 22% 37% Can't Stop the Music Watchlist You Light Up My Life 17% 25% You Light Up My Life Watchlist Sparkle 18% 90% Sparkle Watchlist The Jazz Singer 26% 70% The Jazz Singer Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A teenager (P.J. Soles) and her friends get even with their principal to music by the Ramones.
Director
Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Jerry Zucker
Producer
Michael Finnell
Distributor
New World Pictures
Production Co
New World Pictures
Rating
PG
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 24, 1979, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 3, 2018
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Mono
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