Pump up the Volume

Pump up the Volume
DVD
1990

I discovered this film when Showtime was airing it in the early 90s. And I was the perfect age. I was in high school. Didn't fit in.And this film spoke to me

Christian Slater is Mark AKA Happy Harry Hard on. His Dad has just got a new job. The caused the family to move from the east coast to Arizona. Mark is going to the best school in the area. But you get the feeling something is up.

Each night at 10pm a pirate radio show hits the airwaves. Happy Harry Hardon,who is Mark. He plays all kinds of great music. Reads letters from his fans and just generally acts a fool. The show is slowly building a fanbase with the local teens. Then one night Harry gets a letter from someone. Who says they are thinking about committing suicide. They included their phone number. So Harry calls them on the air. In the middle of the call the teen hangs up. The next day at school Mark finds out the caller has killed himself.

Harry's show is a huge hit. One of the teens is recording and selling cassettes of the show. Because Mark's father works for the school district he has access to all kinds of inside information. We start to learn that the principal is doing some shady stuff.

There is one lady that writes to Harry all the time. This is Samantha Mathis as Nora. She uses the various clues Harry gives to figure out he is actually Mark. The next night on the show Harry tells everyone to take control of their lives and destroy the stuff holding them back. Well one of the rich preppie girls does just that. She takes a bunch of stuff from her room,loads it all up in the microwave and sits there as it causes the microwave to explode.

This causes the principal to freak out and call an emergency meeting with all the parents. Lots of the parents are calling the cops about Harry's show. So the FCC gets brought in.

When I first saw this movie besides the message Harry is putting out,which is be yourself and stop worrying about what others think,the music he plays really connected with me. The soundtrack is loaded with all kinds of great music. You got the Pixies,Soundgarden,Concrete Blonde,Ice T,The Descendents and even Leonard Cohen. After seeing the movie the first time I bought the soundtrack. And listened to it over and over for months.

Pump up the Volume gets a A-. In some ways this is companion piece to Heathers. It isn't as dark. But still as good.