How sad is this?

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

I am in love with film. It inspires me every single day. And so does rock and roll. I have a few rock and roll rules that rule my life and I'll share one with you: if you don't like The Ramones, I really don't trust you.Sure, you can tell me every Ramones song sounds the same. And I'll tell you that you're an asshole - Bonzo Goes to Bitburg sounds nothing like Pet Sematary and those two songs sound nothing like Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue. The Ramones got me through my first year of advertising, keeping my sanity as I worked eighty hours a week and I will forever be in their debt.This movie makes me insanely happy because it posits a world where The Ramones are the biggest band in the world, big enough to cause a major stir when they come to town. Roger Corman originally wanted Cheap Trick or Todd Rundgren for this, but come on. Only one band could make this work.The students of Vince Lombardi High School are as good at driving educators insane as they are bad at actually learning. Foremost among their number is rock and roller Riff Randell (has P.J Soles ever been lovelier?) who dreams of writing songs for the Ramones and meeting Joey Ramone.When new Principal Togar (has Mary Woronov ever not been great in a film?) takes her ticket to the concert away from her, she and her best friend Kate have to figure out how they'll get to meet their heroes, win true love and escape the drudgery of high school.There's a moment here where Riff imagines Joey in her bedroom singing "I Want You Around" to her. It breaks my heart in the best of ways - pure teen worry and angst and then there's Joey - geeky, gangly, goofball Joey - the hero who comes to her room and there's this pure puppy love bliss. No other band could have been in this film and communicated punk rock swagger and danger while still having this tender sweetness.I love PJ's clothes in this film. That may be because the low budget of the film meant that they couldn't afford decent clothes for her, so she spent her entire salary on her outfits.Between Don Steele, Clint Howard, Dick Miller and Paul Bartel, the only members of my favorite actors club not in this film are weirdo Italian gore icons like John Saxon, Ivan Rassimov and George Eastman to make it perfect. Screw that - this is perfect. The end of the film, where Miss Togar snarls at Joey, "Do your parents know you're Ramones?" makes me get up and cheer out loud.Talk about punk rock - The Ramones were only paid a total of $25,000 for acting in this, so they had to play shows every night to make up for it. Meanwhile, Dee Dee fought a roadie, OD'd in jail and woke up in the ER with a $3,000 medical bill. But that's OK - Dee Dee was such a bad actor in this that he only got two lines: "Hey, pizza!" and "Hey, pizza! It's great! Let's dig in!"There's also a giant mouse and mouse children that somehow go to this school for some reason. Who cares!I love the end of this movie, when the school violently explodes as The Ramones rock out and Screamin' Steve Stevens goes wild. It's absolutely, totally perfect - and makes me wish that in my teen years, when no one in my high school knew or cared who The Ramones were, that Dee Dee would come and get me so high I'd wake up in the emergency room with one awesome story. Gabba gabba hey, indeed.

"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!

One of the greatest rock movies of all-time. Heck, one of the greatest MOVIES of all-time IMO - right up there with "THIS IS SPINAL TAP" for me. PJ Soles, Clint Howard, many classic lines and scenes and put out using a lot of music from "ROAD TO RUIN", one of my absolute favorite Ramones recordings. You gotta check this movie out if you're any kind of Ramones fan at all, it's awesome! B-Movie production and humor at it's finest. DO NOT bother with the sequel to this movie, though... much like the second CADDYSHACK movie (yes, there were two) it's awful. Spinal Tap, this movie and The Who's QUADROPHENIA are probably the three MUST-SEE rock movies of all-time for me... and Pink Floyd's THE WALL would get an honorable mention as well. Buy it, rent it, just get a copy and check it out, you WON'T be disappointed :)

This movie is SOOOO funny!!! The acting is WONDERFUL, the Ramones are sexy, the jokes are subtle, and the plot is just what every high schooler dreams of doing to his/her school. I absolutely loved the soundtrack as well as the carefully placed cynicism. If you like monty python, You will love this film. This movie is a tad bit "grease"esk (without all the annoying songs). The songs that are sung are likable; you might even find yourself singing these songs once the movie is through. This musical ranks number two in musicals to me (second next to the blues brothers). But please, do not think of it as a musical per say; seeing as how the songs are so likable, it is hard to tell a carefully choreographed scene is taking place. I think of this movie as more of a comedy with undertones of romance. You will be reminded of what it was like to be a rebellious teenager; needless to say, you will be reminiscing of your old high school days after seeing this film. Highly recommended for both the family (since it is a very youthful but also for adults since there are many jokes that are funnier with age and experience.