Pump Up the Volume

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Todd T Almost three and a half decades after first seeing Pump Up the Volume, it has remained firmly in my top 3 favorite films of all time. It is at the tippity-top of the mountain, putting the more famous works of teen angst genre by John Hughes to shame. The writer/director was a no-compromise type of guy who still had to compromise a small bit on this film, but whatever compromises were made were good ones. Those lucky enough of my generation to find this film in the early 90s were likely introduced to Leonard Cohen for the first time. Some of the best songs from the movie didn't even make it to the official original soundtrack, luckily in the modern era a true soundtrack can and has been created on various streaming mediums. I don't think Slater and Mathis ever did work that topped Pump Up the Volume, but again I'm probably a bit bias. Top 3 after all. But I certainly became fans of them early in their careers because of PUtV. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/05/24 Full Review cameron c Would have been 4 stars if I was 20, 5 stars if I was 15. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/22/24 Full Review Jason M Honestly, this movie always holds a place in my heart. I love the Free Speech implications here and the message of breaking out and being yourself. We need more of this messaging Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/24 Full Review Allen R Some of the "shock jock" gags are more gross than funny, but the story of a introvert kid finding their voice on the air and standing up to the corrupt officials is engaging. It does end abruptly as it would be nice to have some closure with the kid's parents. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/12/23 Full Review Emanuel G This is one of two movies that changed my life back in the days. Highly recommed it! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a very good and underrated movie. Shades of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Network, Talk Radio, Dead Poets Society and others, and somewhat of a precursor to a movie like Pleasantville. Christian Slater and Samantha Mantis are each excellent, and the film is surprisingly subversive for its era, taking on topics like suicide, homophobic bullying, censorship, anti-Capitalist angst and corruption in academia. It would be very interesting to watch a current sequel of this movie with a 50-year-old Slater and Mathis musing about what happened to them as they--the rebellious "don't trust anyone over 30" rabble-rousers--became the adults they had once protested against. The ending is predictable but does not sully the message in the final few minutes. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Pump Up the Volume

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