Synopsis: Talk Hard. Steal the Air.
By day, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater, Very Bad Things, Broken Arrow) is a painfully shy new kid in a small Arizona town. But by night, he’s Hard Harry, the cynical, uncensored DJ of a pirate radio station. Idolized by his high school classmates (who are unaware of his real identity), Harry becomes a hero with his fiercely funny monologues on sex, love and rock and roll. But when he exposes the corrupt school principal, she calls in the FCC to shut Harry down. An outrageous rebel with a cause, Slater gives a brilliant performance as the reluctant hero who inspires his classmates to find their own voices of rebellion and individuality.
A movie with a message, Pump Up The Volume is a raw and witty celebration of free speech that will make you laugh, make you cheer, and make you think.
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Yet another movie from my teen years, except that this one holds up a little better. It’s a light drama about teen angst and rebellion against authority and it pretty much made a star out of Christian Slater at the time.
In it, Slater plays a dejected student who has recently moved to a new town with his parents. Feeling isolated and misunderstood, he starts a pirate radio show as a medium to speak out his concerns and sometimes play pranks. Evidently, he becomes a cult icon and a big influence at his school, so an irate school board and distraught parents attempt to weed him out and shut him down for good.
It’s by no means perfect, but it does tackle a few issues relatively intelligently and sensitively. It’s certainly a standout of the teen flicks from that era.
thecriticaleye 