Pump Up the Volume (1990)
Starring: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Annie Ross
Written and Directed by: Allan Moyle
Synopsis-
High schooler Mark Hunter and his
family relocate from the east coast to a boring suburb in Phoenix,
Arizona. His Father is a school commissioner and is convinced that
Hubert Humphrey High -where Mark attends- is the best school in the
district. Mark knows otherwise. In order to keep up with his friends,
Mark's Dad bought him a short wave radio set, only he could never get it to reach that far. That didn't stop him from talking and jamming music, despite thinking that no one out there was listening. Well, the desperate teens of Phoenix begin to. These are kids searching for a voice; someone they can trust, identify with and
believe in. Mark invents Hard Harry (aka Happy Harry Hard-on)
and becomes that voice. The voice of their generation.
Dear Pump Up the Volume,
Okay, down to business. I got my Newcastle Werewolf (TRUTH) and I got my Black Jack gum here (I wish), and I got that feeling. Yeah, that familiar feeling that something rank is going down out there. Yeah, I can smell it. I can almost taste it, the rankness in the air. It's everywhere. It's running through that old pipeline out there, trickling along that dumb concrete river and coming up through the drains of those lovely tract homes we all live in.
Okay, down to business. I got my Newcastle Werewolf (TRUTH) and I got my Black Jack gum here (I wish), and I got that feeling. Yeah, that familiar feeling that something rank is going down out there. Yeah, I can smell it. I can almost taste it, the rankness in the air. It's everywhere. It's running through that old pipeline out there, trickling along that dumb concrete river and coming up through the drains of those lovely tract homes we all live in.
Christian Slater has a lot of awesome roles
under his belt, and while this may not be his absolute best, it is
indeed my absolute favorite. When I think of the hands down top 3
greatest Slater flicks, I think of Heathers, Pump up the Volume and
True Romance, with Pump possibly being the least talked about. And I
want to change that right here, right now. It's just one of those
movies where I understand it's not by any means perfect, but the
flaws are every bit as charming as all the other elements. There's
obviously so much passion behind it, shown through fantastic writing
and directing by Allan Moyle, and good performances all around... especially from Samantha Mathis and Christian Slater. The topics at hand in
Pump are the things that all of us most likely dealt with in high
school, either through our own self experiences or through the eyes
of a friend or acquaintance. There really aren't
any punches pulled once these topics come up. It's all very
straight forward and that's one of the many reasons I adore the movie so much. More so now, because I understand it a helluva lot more than I did when I was 13.
Once I got Pump from the video store, I hooked up 2 VCRs to record it and watched it more times than I can count. I got the novelization for it, as well as the soundtrack. I wanted to be Hard Harry so bad I could taste it (I already was Mark Hunter, essentially). I wanted to be the voice for every kid my age who felt different but didn't want to feel awkward for being different. At the time, I lived in Lexington, Kentucky in the basement of my parents' home. It was one big brick walled room, with arcade games, a pool table and a little section all for me in a corner. I wanted my own pirate radio station, but at that age all I could do was pretend. And that's what I did. I had a microphone plugged into the jack of my old Pioneer stereo -which was pretty badass at the time- and I would talk and play music. I did this for a long time. The difference is where Mark Hunter expected he probably wasn't talking to anyone, I absolutely knew I wasn't talking to anyone, and I certainly didn't receive my own Nora Diniro coming over to dance with me topless... ever. But this fantasy of being a pirate DJ made me feel as if I were playing out a role of importance, or a savior, so to speak. I can't really pinpoint exactly when I ceased doing this faux pirate radio thing, but I do remember actually DOING it quite vividly, and it was awesome.
I fucking love this movie. Everything
about it. The punky lettered opening, the characters, the setting,
story, music, EVERYTHING. That can't be said enough. I love the fashion of it. This was
1990. Movies didn't quite know how to not be 80s just
yet. Cassettes, boom boxes, clothing, big female hair, punk rock (which I knew little about),
noise rock (which I knew nothing about), alt rock and hip-hop (which I was just coming into), you name it. I guess what I want to start out
with is the storytelling from Allan Moyle. I began Part 1 of this article with Hard Harry's opening
dialog from the movie, but I altered it to fit in with the blog. If you've seen Pump as much as I have, you probably know the exact wording. Allan Moyle
serves up a picture of the world with such a true perspective of it
that the words will always be timeless. Many of us probably at
one point felt the way Hard Harry does about things, and that's how
Moyle makes the character so easy to identify with. Harry is someone
who is just sick of it all, but hides this persona from the outside world. The Jekyll to his Hyde is Mark Hunter, an awkward youngster in
a new town with no friends. Strangely enough, as a teen I was able to relate to both of these personalities (even at 13, but more so after my family moved to Florida where I knew no one. First year of high school, it was ruthless. It took me many months to connect with anyone), and I still do. I can't tell you how many times I put on a mask made of
awkwardness when out in the real world. Sometimes it's the only way I
know how to cope with shit. It's another one of the many reasons I hold Pump
so near and dear to my heart.
As I mentioned earlier, the movie taps
into so many subjects that kids first deal with in school, and it is
all still just as relevant now as it was in 1990. Teen pregnancy,
suicide, social acceptance, bullying, homosexuality... it's
all brought forward here and done in such a realistic way. You feel
for every one of these characters and you simply want Harry to be the voice that they all need to hear because no adult knows how to be. Most of the time he is, but no voice always has the right thing to say. I applaud Allan Moyle for not wimping out when it comes to the harshness of it all.
Now, let's move on to these stellar characters and performances! I've already discussed Mark/Harry, but without someone like Christian Slater at the helm I'm convinced it wouldn't have been as hard hitting. If you think about it, the dude has to play two entirely different parts (the character is a mix of Lenny Bruce and Holden Caulfield), and sometimes it has to be switched off within the blink of an eye. Slater plays both entities perfectly. Samantha Mathis is Nora Diniro, Hard Harry's biggest fan. Nora shuts herself in her room every night, dancing to Harry's music and listening to his every word and breath. She sends fantastic poetry to his P.O. Box, using her own alter ego, 'The Eat Me Beat Me Lady'. Fuck, I fell in love with this girl so hard. Her looks, fashion and personality. In many ways, she is just like Mark in Harry form, but right out in the open. She simply doesn't give a shit and speaks straight from the heart. In high school I wanted a girl like this so bad. Didn't find one until much later, as in who I am with now. Samantha Mathis is an absolute delight in her role. I still get goosebumps watching her every move. As far as Slater and Mathis' chemistry, it's completely beautiful. From the way they slowly become close to one another, to their very first clumsy kiss -which I can't help but label absolutely adorable. Many people might find their relationship to feel rushed as far as the story goes... I do not. Sometimes you just know.
Other characters/performances worthy to note-
Annie Ross as “maggot puswad” principal Loretta Creswood is every bit the bitch she needs to be for you to hate her to the very core. She plays the sleazy role of a rotten authority so hard. From the start of the movie, you notice students whom are “undesirable” being weeded out of Hubert Humphrey High just so the government will continue to fund Creswood's precious school. And she does it dirty, by keeping their names on the enrollment list. Ross kills it so well that you might just damage your TV when you decide to punch the fucking thing whenever her face is on it. Creswood has a lapdog to do her bidding, too; Murdock, played by Andy Romano. Dude is every bit of a sleaze bag as she is. Romano's role is limited, but he does well enough for you to want to toilet roll the dude's trees, for sure.
Now, let's move on to these stellar characters and performances! I've already discussed Mark/Harry, but without someone like Christian Slater at the helm I'm convinced it wouldn't have been as hard hitting. If you think about it, the dude has to play two entirely different parts (the character is a mix of Lenny Bruce and Holden Caulfield), and sometimes it has to be switched off within the blink of an eye. Slater plays both entities perfectly. Samantha Mathis is Nora Diniro, Hard Harry's biggest fan. Nora shuts herself in her room every night, dancing to Harry's music and listening to his every word and breath. She sends fantastic poetry to his P.O. Box, using her own alter ego, 'The Eat Me Beat Me Lady'. Fuck, I fell in love with this girl so hard. Her looks, fashion and personality. In many ways, she is just like Mark in Harry form, but right out in the open. She simply doesn't give a shit and speaks straight from the heart. In high school I wanted a girl like this so bad. Didn't find one until much later, as in who I am with now. Samantha Mathis is an absolute delight in her role. I still get goosebumps watching her every move. As far as Slater and Mathis' chemistry, it's completely beautiful. From the way they slowly become close to one another, to their very first clumsy kiss -which I can't help but label absolutely adorable. Many people might find their relationship to feel rushed as far as the story goes... I do not. Sometimes you just know.
Other characters/performances worthy to note-
Annie Ross as “maggot puswad” principal Loretta Creswood is every bit the bitch she needs to be for you to hate her to the very core. She plays the sleazy role of a rotten authority so hard. From the start of the movie, you notice students whom are “undesirable” being weeded out of Hubert Humphrey High just so the government will continue to fund Creswood's precious school. And she does it dirty, by keeping their names on the enrollment list. Ross kills it so well that you might just damage your TV when you decide to punch the fucking thing whenever her face is on it. Creswood has a lapdog to do her bidding, too; Murdock, played by Andy Romano. Dude is every bit of a sleaze bag as she is. Romano's role is limited, but he does well enough for you to want to toilet roll the dude's trees, for sure.
 |
| Seth Green, as Joey. Very few lines of dialog, but he's here, nonetheless. |
 |
| Paige Woodward, played by Cheryl Pollack. Paige is a Polly Perfect type character on the surface, but is dying to break out. This will be on display later. |
 |
| Marks parents, played by Scott Paulin and Mimi Kennedy. Ex hippies who don't understand Mark at all. The Dad has actually sold out and became a man of power and money. Paulin also played the drama teacher in Teen Wolf. |
 |
| Mazz (Billy Morrissette), Seth Green's bestie in the film. Fuckin' love this character. |
 |
| Cheryl, kicked out of high school for being pregnant. Cheryl is played by Holly Sampson. Is that name familiar to any of you? Go to the next pic. |
 |
| Holly Sampson (also known as Nicolette, and a few other names) became an adult film actress. She was also in the spotlight back in '09 for being a part of the Tiger Woods sex scandals. Tiger, you lucky bastard. |
 |
| Lin Shaye, in one of her many old school New Line Cinema cameos, playing a concerned parent at a PTA meeting. |
 |
| Teen Wolf's Dad (James Hampton). He's not a lovable furry dude in this flick, he's an asshole front runner for the FCC. |
 |
Juliet Landau, daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. She plays Joni. Hey, wait a minute!? She's in Pump Up the Volume? Well, not the version we've seen. All of her scenes were deleted. No clue why.
Pump Up the Volume also has one completely badass soundtrack. In fact, I would say it's right up there with The Lost Boys. When I was 13 and living in Lexington, Kentucky, I didn't really have access to anything other than what was played on the radio and on Mtv, and I didn't discover late Sunday night MTV (120 Minutes) until after this movie. I was all about Headbanger's Ball beforehand. This soundtrack is the reason I am so open minded about music to this very day. I'll jam some Van Morrison one minute and Slayer the next. Anyway, so many great bands represented in Pump, but sadly a lot of songs did not make the soundtrack. Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" and "If It Be Your Will" aren't on there, and that is probably the biggest gut punch. "Everybody Knows" is like the movie's anthem! But there is a Concrete Blonde cover of the song on there, which is also good, just not as hard hitting. Ultimately, 11 songs make the soundtrack, while 20 songs appear in the film -21 if you count the little "David Deaver" thing Seth Green's character slaps together to play over the high school intercom. But like I said, it's still a pretty damn amazing OST. Favorite Songs on the Soundtrack:
~Cohen's "Everybody Knows" will be left out since I linked it at the beginning of the review~
"Freedom of Speech" -Above the Law
Fucking awesome cover of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" by Henry Rollins and Bad Brains
My introduction to "Wave of Mutilation" was this movie. I had no idea the UK Surf cut was an alternate version. I became a pretty big Pixies fan in High School, and my mind was blown when I heard a more upbeat version of it. Still, this one is my favorite.
"Titanium Expose" -Sonic Youth
"Why Can't I Fall In Love" -Ivan Neville
"Heretic" -Soundgarden
Favorite Songs That Didn't Make the Soundtrack:
When I was a kid I thought the title of this song was "Golf Balls In Space", not "Love Comes In Spurts"
Even though Harry dubs this a "song for the 90s" it's actually from 1981
"If It Be Your Will" -Leonard Cohen
"Hello Dad... I'm In Jail" -Was (Not Was)
Random Moments of Awesome:
Can't tell ya how many times I paused this part to jot down the band names.
Where the hell can I get a penis wind-up toy!?
Paige turning all of her high school achievements into a TV dinner.
How many of you all used to dance around your bedroom like a maniac? I know I did. Still do, but now it's the whole house. But my legs are nowhere near that nice.
HaH!
Slate's epic dress bang moment.
I wanted to make this a GIF but it would be a ton of frames. It might sound strange but this is one of my favorite moments in the film. It's like a view of how small we really are in the world and if you're not careful it can swallow you up. It definitely helps that "Wave Of Mutilation" is accompanying the scene.
Paige freakin'.
For everyone who reads every word, jams every song, looks at every picture, thank you so much. This one means a lot to me. Perhaps more than any other film I've ever written about. Re-visiting Pump Up the Volume was like hooking back up with an old friend who you haven't seen in years, a friend who has became smarter over time. I can't think of a better movie responsible for shaping me in to who I am today.
I'm done. Stick a fork in me. It's been grand. This is Ecstatic Eric saying sayonara. Over and out.
Talk Hard.
~THE END~
|
