Get ready to rebel like Riff Randell along with The Ramones
It’s hard to believe that the 1979 rock musical comedy Rock ‘n’ Roll High School—the beloved film about teen rebellion and an obsession with punk rock (and pizza)—might have starred Cheap Trick or Devo instead of the Ramones, or might actually have been about disco music.
During a key moment in the film’s planning, director Allan Arkush was presented with the idea of starring the Ramones by Warner Bros. Records.
“I thought ‘Holy s**t, that’s a great idea,’ because they were as far as possible from suburban life,” said Arkush via phone from Los Angeles.
Escaping the suburban doldrums—conveyed by the movie’s ecstatic opening song, “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker”, about breaking away—is part of the ultimate teen anti-establishment fantasy, along with getting your favorite rock musicians to play for you and seeking revenge on fascist school administrators.
“As I grew up in the ’50s, there was a general suspicion about rock n’ roll that the older generation had,” said Arkush, who drew from personal experiences for the film’s story. “The culture was changing.”
“That combined with the fact that I was bored in high school and dreaming up things like motorcycle races in the hallway,” said Arkush. “Or else [I’d] be dreaming that a band like the Yardbirds or the Rolling Stones were going to come to my high school.”
“I had a bunch of principals, teachers, and faculty pushing back on anything that I wanted to do or any sort of self-expression,” said Arkush. “All of that added to a feeling of rebellion, but not in a way where I went out and stole cars. Intellectual rebellion.”
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the cult classic, with various celebrations across the nation—including a screening of the film this Sunday at The Palace Theater (818 Georgia Ave.) at 6 p.m. featuring a specially recorded video introduction by Arkush—and a 40th anniversary edition Blu-Ray release by Shout! Factory this November.
Arkush plans to celebrate the anniversary with several cast members, the legendary filmmaker Roger Corman (the film’s executive producer) and Gremlins director Joe Dante (who co-wrote the story with Arkush).
“A bunch of us are going to go out for pizza, OF COURSE,” said Arkush, with laughter. “And just to say, ‘Oh my god, it’s been 40 years, and it’s still going.’”
“One of the points I wanted to make in the movie is that music fills in your fantasy life,” said Arkush. “It helps you through emotional things when you’re a teenager. The music helps define who you are, what you dress like, and who your friends are.”
Arkush is a true music lover, with an enormous record collection and an eagerness to talk not only about punk rock but also artists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, and Sonic Youth.
Music has frequently intersected with his film career, with directing credits including Elvis Meets Nixon, the remake Shake, Rattle and Rock! (starring Renée Zellweger and serving as a prequel to Rock ‘n’ Roll High School) and The Temptations miniseries, which earned Arkush an Emmy Award.
“If you were to ask why this movie is still being played 40 years later, it’s because people love the Ramones and the character of Riff Randell,” said Arkush.
Riff Randell, the film’s protagonist played by P.J. Soles, is a huge Ramones fan who wants to present them a song she wrote (the film’s title track) and defiantly rallies her fellow students at her high school.
Among the film’s biggest fans are women who viewed the movie as a child and saw Riff Randell as a role model.
“They tell me how much they loved Riff Randell and the fact that she didn’t take shit from anyone,” said Arkush. “She defined who she was. They felt empowered and took her as an example of what was possible.”
Arkush and Joey Ramone bonded over music and were close friends until his death in 2001.
“I would go over to his apartment in New York, or we’d call and he would play me records,” said Arkush. “You never left that apartment without a gift. He’d give you a CD or give you a sweatshirt.”
“We would go down to get something to eat in the East Village where he lived, and it’d be a three-block walk,” said Arkush. “It would take you an hour because so many people would come up to him and want to talk to him and just say how they felt about him and about the music.”
“He had this sort of connection with all these people. These people felt this, and he was respectful of it,” said Arkush. “Which is why he was always late for everything.”