Pump Up the Volume (1990)
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Duration: 102 minuten
Country:
Canada / United States
Directed by: Allan Moyle
Stars: Christian Slater, Andy Romano and Keith Stuart Thayer
IMDb score:
7,2 (33.848)
Releasedate: 22 August 1990
Pump Up the Volume plot
"TALK HARD. STEAL THE AIR."
Mark Hunter has just moved to a dull village, where his father found work at the student-unfriendly school. Because he is quite shy at school, he uses a pirate transmitter to vent his complaints. He becomes incredibly popular and struggles when people put his messages into practice, but differently than he intended. Now he is the most wanted boy in school but nobody knows who he is except 1 girl.
Actors and actresses
Mark Hunter
Nora Diniro
Loretta Creswood
Brian Hunter
Marla Hunter
Murdock
Luis Chavez
Paige Woodward
Mr. Woodward
Janie
Reviews & comments
scorsese
-
- 13574 messages
- 11362 votes
An excellent film about a boy whose pirate radio has a profound effect on his classmates. The problems teenagers face with themselves, their parents, and school are well-depicted here. And that makes this film much more compelling than your average high school movie. The dialogue and monologues are excellent, and Christian Slater is perfectly cast.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Psycho-M
-
- 328 messages
- 273 votes
I think this is a fine cult classic.
When Christian Slater still made really good films.
A really great soundtrack, the socially critical tone, but also the high school scene with all the worries such as falling in love, rebelling against the teachers, standing up for yourself and for each other, justice, etc.
This is one of those films that really touched me in the past, where I recognized things of myself in it and where I still understand why I think it's a good film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Collins
-
- 7569 messages
- 4521 votes
Pump Up the Volume deals with censorship, and specifically with the hypocrisy of respectable institutions that deliberately conceal malpractice and shady dealings and therefore fail to conduct themselves according to their own rules of decency. Criticism of their performance is suppressed. Only those who convey positive or very mildly critical messages are granted the freedom to express their opinions by these institutions. The institution in question is a high school. The vocal critic is called Hard Harry, who broadcasts his inflammatory messages to the world via an illegal radio channel.
Harry exposes abuses and also becomes a counselor for troubled students. Harry uses his radio show to expose injustices at the high school. By crossing the lines once established by the establishment, he quickly becomes the voice of the unheard students. Christian Slater gives a fantastic performance as the shy high school student Mark, who transforms into the verbally gifted Mr. Hyde once he gets on the radio.
Pump Up the Volume is enjoyable entertainment with an incendiary message delivered sharply but lightheartedly. The film doesn't descend into tedious moralizing and refrains from sentimental tricks to cheaply elicit emotions. The score works well and is spot-on. It's therefore quite remarkable that the closing credits are accompanied not by a strong closing track but by a weak piece of music that immediately cooled my already deepening incendiary mood and forced me to abandon the film. What an incredible blunder. Thankfully, it's the only one.
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