40th Anniversary Screening!
“Director Allan Arkush channels Frank Tashlin and the smartass spirit of Mad Magazine throughout the film, transforming his love letter to rock ’n’ roll and the eternal allure of being a teenager at war with parents into a live-action cartoon filled with giddily surreal touches. In reality, Ramones fandom was a small, specific, eccentric niche. But in Rock ’N’ Roll High School, the Ramones are as big as The Beatles.” — Nathan Rabin, The Dissolve
High school punk/cheerleader/human cartoon character Riff Randall (Halloween’s P.J. Soles in a performances that simultaneously channels punk rock and Bugs Bunny) just wants to slack off, have fun, and listen to the Ramones in her bedroom. Her dream is to someday have Queens’ most famous leather jacket-wearing quartet play a show at her school, Vince Lombardi High. But when the school administration installs the oppressive and fascistic Miss Togar (cult legend Mary Woronov, Night of the Comet, Death Race 2000) as the new principal, Riff and her friends, including high school “fixer,” Eaglebauer (Clint Howard), have to stand up and fight to either take their school back—or knock it right to the ground.
Featuring several members from executive producer Roger Corman’s stable of actors including Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul) and the beloved late, great character actor Dick Miller, and a killer soundtrack showcasing songs from Brian Eno, The Velvet Underground, MC5, Wings, Fleetwood Mac, Devo, and, yes, several Ramones classics, Rock ‘N’ Roll High School is the perfect way to cap off the summer and flip the bird to the back-to-school blues.
