06.21.05
Movie Reviews: Rock ‘n Roll High School, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones

Rock ‘n Roll High School (1979)

Leonard Maltin described it as “a 50’s movie gone berserk”, but it’s so much more!

Director Allan Arkush had been shopping his script idea for several years to different bands (Cheap Trick, Todd Rundgren and Tom Petty and Heartbreaks all declined), before signing the Ramones for $5000, and elevating what would have been a curio to a full-fledged cult classic.

It’s best not to think too much about the plot. Two best girlfriends, nerdy Kate Rambeau (Dey Young) and slightly psychotic Riff Randell (P.J. Soles), pursue their respective goals of getting laid and getting tickets to a Ramones concert. Andy Warhol alum Mary Woronov plays the evil new high school principal, who performs experiments on mice. It’s a little dumb, a little unnerving, really funny, and endlessly quotable. Kind of like a Ramones song.

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)

Was any rock group more beloved than the Ramones? Did any group worked harder and was rewarded with less commercial success?

New interviews were filmed with Johnny and Dee Dee shortly before their respective deaths, old footage from a variety of sources fill in the Joey segments, and Tommy, second drummer Marky (and even ringers Richie and CJ) get their fair share of screen time. Tellingly, nobody appears on camera together. (Other interview subjects include Joe Strummer, before his untimely death, members of Blondie, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rancid, and various family members and associates.)

Joey’s younger brother comments at one point that they were all so screwed up that the only thing they could do with their lives was become rock stars, and it’s a salient point; business-minded Tommy, Fascist asshole Johnny, frail and deeply neurotic Joey, and the sometimes brilliant (and always drug-addled) Dee Dee spent 20 years doing a really good job of being Ramones, but after the band finally split up, they didn’t really have anything else to do.

Bonus features on the DVD include:

A 1994 radio interview in which Joey good-naturedly hassles Bruce Springsteen about owing them a song ("Hungry Heart" was written especially for them, but Springsteen's manager convinced him to keep it for himself; it became his first top 10 hit.)

More insight from Dee Dee on his post-Ramones career.(On one hand, it’s kind of sad that a middle-aged heroin addict thought his next best career move was to become a white rap star… on the other hand, he seems to have a good sense of humor about it. “The record wasn’t even any good. It turns out I’m not a Negro.”)