Line #22 Film/RockAndRollHighSchool


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rock_n_roll_high_school_movie_poster_1979.jpg]]
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3	''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Creator/RogerCorman, directed by Allan Arkush, and featuring Music/TheRamones.
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5	Vince Lombardi High School greets its latest principal, Miss Togar (Creator/MaryWoronov), replacing yet another principal who went mad trying to keep the kids in line. Togar sets her evil sights on Riff Randall (Creator/PJSoles), who's popular, sexy, uncontrollable... and the school's biggest fan of the Ramones. When the Ramones have a concert scheduled in the city, Riff tries out various schemes to ensure she gets to see the concert and meet the band to give them a song she's written... but Togar wants Riff punished with detention for eternity, to rid the school of rock and roll.
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7	A sequel called ''Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever'' followed in 1991, which featured a few returning characters in addition to many new ones.
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9	----
10	!!This film contains examples of:
11	* AbsurdlyPowerfulSchoolJurisdiction: Convinced that rock and roll and especially the Ramones are the source of truancy and hooliganism, Principal Togar tries to ban student attendance at their concert.
12	* AdamWesting: When The Ramones show up backstage at the show, they play themselves as a bunch of airheaded idiots. Joey has to be fed by his manager and gets called a good boy. (He's also not allowed pizza.)
13	* AdultsAreUseless: The parents do absolutely nothing when Music/TheRamones show up. And the band is asked, "Do your parents KNOW you're Ramones?"
14	* AMFMCharacterization: In addition to loving Music/TheRamones, Riff is shown to be a rock fan in general, owning Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}' ''Music/StickyFingers'', Music/BobDylan's ''Music/Highway61Revisited'' and Music/TheWho's ''Music/WhosNext'' among others. She also has a picture of Music/TalkingHeads on her wall. She also plays Music/VelvetUnderground's "Rock & Roll" from the record.
15	* AnimalMotifs: White mice. They're frequently [[RunningGag blown up upon exposure to Ramones songs]], [[spoiler:and two human-sized, anthropomorphized mice show up.]]
16	* AnythingButThat: The lunch ladies' reactions to [[spoiler:being pelted with the "[[MysteryMeat Tuesday Surprise]]"]].
17	* ArsonMurderAndAdmiration: Quoth Mr. [=McGree=], "You know, people say your music is loud and destructive and lethal to mice, but I think you're the Beethovens of our time."
18	* AscendedFanboy: Riff gets to hang out with the Ramones, and they let her know they're going to record the song she wrote for them. They play the song and [[spoiler: they help her blow up the school!]]
19	* [[AsHimself As Themselves]]: The Ramones, natch. Vince Lombardi only appears in photos.
20	* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:As soon as Miss Togar sets her students' records on fire, the students RIOT, put out the bonfire as quickly as possible, and then take over the school with help from their favorite band, Music/TheRamones, whose concert they (and Mr. [=McGree=]) had attended the night before.]]
21	* BigDamnHeroes: Music/TheRamones appear right when Miss Togar tries to burn her student's records -- and just as the students are putting out the fire.
22	* BookDumb: Riff gives barely a thought to her studies, yet has amassed quite an impressive songwriting portfolio.
23	* BrickJoke: [[spoiler:How could Togar have known there are nuns in this world who love rock 'n' roll?]]
24	* BrownFace: A white actor playing a stereotypical Indian shows up at the Ramones concert [[{{Pun}} scalping]] tickets.
25	* CaptainObvious: "Do your parents KNOW you're Ramones?"
26	** [[spoiler:Can count as an InJoke as none of the band were actually related; the name was taken from an early alias of Music/PaulMcCartney. The stage names, and the gimmick of the boys pretending to be brothers, were both Dee Dee's idea.]]
27	* ChainsawGood: At the end, [[spoiler:Riff takes a chainsaw to the permanent records.]]
28	* ChekhovsGun: Riff's Ramones record, which Togar uses at the end to [[spoiler:light up the bonfire, thus triggering the climax]].
29	* ClassicalMusicIsBoring: The students show no interest in Mr. [=McGree=]'s lectures on classical music.
30	* CoolCar: The customized Chevy Van that Eaglebauer provides for Tom for his big date, and the '59 Cadillac convertible used by the Ramones.
31	* CoolTeacher: Mr. [=McGree=] who by the end, becomes the only teacher who supports [[spoiler:the students' revolt, and dances with Riff.]]
32	* TheCoverChangesTheGender: Averted when Riff sings the title song - it still has the lines "I just wanna get some chicks" and "the girls out there knock me out you know". Then again, InUniverse ''she'' wrote the song, so it's presumably from a male POV because she wanted Joey Ramone to sing it.
33	* CreatorCameo: Allan Arkush is a ticket-taker at the theater, and Creator/JoeDante is a riot cop wearing sunglasses. Dante's mother Sylvia plays one of the nuns, too.
34	* CuteBookworm: Kate.
35	* DancePartyEnding: To "[[TitleDrop Rock 'n' Roll High School]]".
36	* DeanBitterman: Miss Togar really, really hates rock and roll to the point she actively tries to prevent Riff from going to a Ramones concert. When Riff goes anyway she gathers rock and roll memorabilia belonging to the students and sets fire to it [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything while crowing to the students]] "behold, the FinalSolution!" and when they rebel and take over the campus, she calls the cops and really hopes that there's some bloodshed.
37	* DreamSequence: Riff fantasizes about the Ramones in her bedroom.
38	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Riff Randall is introduced stealing a record player and using it to play Music/TheRamones out in the school hall.
39	* EstablishingCharacterMusic: Riff using a stolen record player to blare Music/TheRamones in the school hall.
40	* FakeOutMakeOut: Features a solo Fake-out Make-out in which one of the protagonists turns towards a corner, wraps his arms around himself and mimics the sounds of a couple making out, successfully fooling his pursuers.
41	* {{Fanservice}}: Riff is in her underwear on her way to the shower while she has a fantasy of the Ramones playing "I Want You Around" in her room, only to find [[ItMakesSenseInContext Dee Dee in the shower playing bass in his street clothes.]]
42	* FatAndSkinny: The Hall Monitors.
43	* FreudianSlip: Miss Togar is constantly asking one of her henchmen to read back notes, which constantly turn into his BDSM fantasies of her.
44	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Frequently, an example of which is when Riff [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext puts a slice of pizza in a folder as a memento]] and Dee Dee looks at her like she's crazy.
45	** When the announcer (an uncredited [[Series/LetsMakeADeal Jay]] [[Series/SaleOfTheCentury Stewart]]) begins describing Kate inside Eaglebauer's office, Tom seems to be looking for where the voice is coming from.
46	* GambitRoulette: There's no way Riff and her friend planned on getting their tickets back because they didn't plan that method -- the RADIO STATION did. What's more, the station itself didn't hear of Riff's latest confrontation with Miss Togar, making this a mix of this and SpannerInTheWorks.
47	* GenreThrowback: Producer Creator/RogerCorman's intent was to recreate the teen movies he started out making.
48	* GirlNextDoor: Kate (Creator/DeyYoung), the HollywoodHomely best friend to Riff, who has a crush on star athlete Tom Roberts.
49	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:The music teacher Mr. [=McGree=]]].
50	* HighSchoolHustler: Eaglebauer. He works in a [[BiggerOnTheInside office room installed in one of the boys' bathrooms]], complete with secretary managing his deals.
51	* {{Homage}}: The "I Want You Around" number was based on the "Cry Me a River" sequence in ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt''.
52	* HongKongDub: The lip-synching is off in parts, but gets really noticeable during the end performance of "Rock 'n' Roll High School".
53	* IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam: Mr. [=McGree=] frequently praises classical music over modern music (although he feels that Mrs. Togar is too strict in her determination to ban rock and roll), but when he's sent to attend a Music/TheRamones concert, he has the time of his life [[spoiler:and begins actively supporting the students]].
54	* LoonyFan: Both Riff and Angel Dust for the Ramones, the latter being a more negative example than the former.
55	* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:All Miss Togar can say in the end is "Detention."]]
56	* NocturnalEmission: Implied. Tom mentions that he frequently dreams about his crush Riff but always wakes up "just before the good part."
57	* NextSundayAD: Released in 1979, set in 1980.
58	* NunTooHoly: Downplayed. Among the oddball concertgoers are [[spoiler:two nuns]].
59	* OddFriendship: The BookDumb, outgoing, rock and roll-loving delinquent Riff is best friends with the shy honors chemistry student Kate.
60	* OutGambitted: Possibly the only film where a gambit falls victim to another gambit, which falls victim to a cross between a GambitRoulette and a SpannerInTheWorks.
61	* ParentalAbandonment: When Riff tries to excuse herself from school in order to wait in line for Ramones tickets: she sends letters claiming her father, her mother, and her goldfish die. Miss Togar proves she lied when her school guards find the goldfish alive and well.
62	-->'''Togar''': We can assume the parents are still alive... somewhere.
63	* ThePowerOfRock: The Ramones using rock and roll to help take over a high school? It doesn't get much cooler than that.
64	* PrecisionFStrike: "Screw you, Miss Togar, we made it to the concert anyway!" Worth mentioning because it was spoken over the radio.
65	* RedOniBlueOni: Riff and Kate, respectively. And they're often [[ColorCodedCharacters color-coded]] as well.
66	* RuleOfCool: Mixed with RuleOfFunny, of course.
67	* RunningGag: The Ramones' music is apparently lethal to mice to the point where they blow up.
68	* ShipperOnDeck: Before Tom tells him that he wants a date with Riff, Eaglebauer is quick to offer Kate up as an option, saying that the two are perfect for each other.
69	* StuffBlowingUp: White mice, [[spoiler:and the school itself.]]
70	* StuffedIntoALocker: Happens to a hapless and anonymous freshman in a throwaway gag.
71	* SurrealHumor: Constantly, an example being the scenes with Mr. [=McGree=] at the concert, [[spoiler:flanked by a giant anthropomorphic mouse and a Native American in traditional garb who offers him a pipe.]]
72	* TrashTheSet: Mount Carmel High School, where the film was shot, had closed a few years earlier, so they were free to [[spoiler:have a giant party and blow the whole place up at the end.]]
73	* VanityLicensePlate: The Ramones' Cadillac has "Gabba Gabba Hey" as a license plate.
74	* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Miss Togar]] winds up in a straitjacket.
75	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:The last we see of Angel Dust, Togar's minions are giving her a full-body search; she doesn't appear at all during the climax.]]
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77	!!The sequel contains examples of:
78	* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Inverted when Principal Vadar lists the punishable offenses under her new regime. Singing and dancing are at the top, while smoking is considered among the least offensive to her.
79	* DisproportionateRetribution: Principal Vadar just ''loves'' this trope. Scarily enough, she's more lenient toward ''smoking'' (ItMakesSenseInContext).
80	* HappyEndingOverride: The school finds itself on probation for consecutive years due to the events of the first film. Averted ([[CrossesTheLineTwice for all the wrong reasons]])[[invoked]] when Principal Vadar takes over.
81	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Principal Vadar. Unlike Miss Togar from the first film, she actually turns her school into a concentration camp.
82	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Since [=McGree=] started running things, Rock N Roll High School Day has become an annual tradition at the school (which had relocated due to the destruction of the previous location in the first film). This contributes to the school landing on probation for consecutive years, which gives rise to the regime of Principal Vadar...
83	* ThePowerOfRock: Weaponized here again.
84	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: How does [=McGree=] react to [[spoiler:his school being destroyed a second time]]? He simply shrugs it off as déjà vu and another opportunity to relocate.

Context Film / RockAndRollHighSchool