It doesn't take a genius to see that Happy Harry Hard-On has a point. Life blows. Big
Time. But there's nothing we can do about it...right?
 Mark
Hunter (Slater) is a new kid in a small Arizona town, having just moved
with his straight laced education board father, and mother from the
East Coast. Mark has no friends, sits on the stairs to eat his lunch by
himself and reads books. He doesn't talk very well. To anybody. Until
10pm that is.
After ten Mark becomes Happy Harry Hard-On, a pirate DJ broadcasting
from his own basement with a penchant for telling it how it is. The
kids at school all love Harry. He knows how much things suck, he
sympathises with the fact that they are at the end of a dried up, used
up decade where there is nothing new and insightful to do anymore. He
understands their problems. But they have no idea who he is. Nora, a
student at Mark's school and faithful listener who sends Harry poetry,
is determined to figure exactly who he is.
 Harry's
fan base continues to grow as the nights wear on, but one evening Harry
has a suicidal caller that changes it all. Harry eggs him on, and tells
him he should take his own life, not thinking that he will actually do
it. But when he goes through with killing himself, seemingly because of
Harry's diatribe about how much life sucks, the parents go into an
uproar over his show leading Mark to question whether his hard talking
ways have finally gone too far.
The parents and teachers bring in the police and the FCC to
shut Harry's show down, but it's already too late. Mark's word has already spread and the kids have heard
the message. Kids are getting expelled and teachers fired as the corrupt
principal of Hubert Humphrey High School tries to remove the scourge that she believes Mark has
created. Kids are embracing their individuality, expressing their rights and
standing up for what they believe in. Mark decides that despite the risks, he must go on the air. The
kids need Harry.
 One of my favourite movies from well before I was old enough to understand it,
Pump up the Volume delivers the goods with themes of teen angst and reminds us
all how much being a high school student really did suck. And even more so when
the system is just not fair. I sincerely hope that by the time my children are
teenagers, I won't have forgotten how hard that time of your life is to get
through. Everything is changing. You want to be free, but you're still chained
up. You need to discover yourself and your identity but everyone is still
telling you what to do. Life really is an emotional roller coaster.
Pump up the volume delivers the message to the viewers that kids aren't all bad,
adults don't always know what's best and that the youth has a voice, and quite
often it has something very interesting to say.
Christian Slater is brilliant in his prime as Mark/Harry. It's interesting to note that he actually became physically ill several times during filming due to all
the cigarette smoking he had to do. Too bad he has such a
pretty face - the man had the perfect voice for radio. Samantha Mathis works
well in one of her early roles as Nora. The two have great chemistry, and
knowing Christian Slater, probably dated in real life. (Taken from IMDB:
Samantha's first feature film was Pump Up the Volume (1990) opposite her on- and
off-screen love at the time, Christian Slater.) I think Cheryl Pollak is
gorgeous, and was great as Paige Woodward. And Seth Green has a mullet.
Wonderfully written and directed by Allan Moyle.
This movie is also well known for its extremely kickass soundtrack
including songs by Soundgarden and Sonic Youth, and is the reason
"Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen is on my Ipod.
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Year:
1990
