Pump Up The Volume (1990) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction
Added 2024-06-25 21:00:00 +0000 UTCHi everyone! So excited to bring you this reaction today. This was a movie in my Mr. Robot Inspiration Poll and while it didn't come close to winning, I am watching multiple movies from that poll anyway and this one was definitely my first choice out of the whole list. Other reactions from that poll coming soon. [Direct link here.]
Please enjoy and I'm looking forward to your comments!
Cheers,
✦ KL
Comments
It's not nearly as dramatically complicated, but I think Hackers (1995) would make for a great watch as a counterpart to this. I seem to recall it's also on the "Mr. Robot" list, but my main feeling is that both movies are examples of teens using collective action in the name of a revolution on behalf of other people their age.
Tyler Foster
2024-07-08 05:46:00 +0000 UTCGiven the situation with the movie's availability, I understand it, but in case this is not something you've encountered much in the 21st century with digital streams rather than discs, it's worth being aware that it's not ideal to watch movies in an altered aspect ratio. My guess is that you didn't even know this was altered -- it was an awful practice which used to be common to fit square tube television sets, and I'm glad discs that only offer the film in a visually compromised format are basically non-existent nowadays. That said, it's nice that this one is an example of "open matte" framing. There is almost always more visual information that exists on the negative beyond the edges of the frame, and an "open matte" presentation means the masking is removed to reveal that part of the frame rather than the picture being cropped on the sides to be square. (Cropping is more common when the original ratio is wider; Pump Up the Volume ought to be 1.85:1, which would almost completely fill a modern widescreen, with only very thin bars on the top and bottom.)
Tyler Foster
2024-07-08 04:30:44 +0000 UTCNever heard of this movie. Just watched it alongside the reaction. Really wasn’t my cup of tea but it did cover important topics that are still relevant today. Glad you liked it and seems like it means a lot to several of the peeps on here.
boss435
2024-06-30 04:47:06 +0000 UTCJust finished the full reaction along side my blu ray. I have a lot to say to you and just thoughts in general. I have a deep affection for this movie. First - Why was the FCC arresting Mark? Because Mark was broadcasting without a license. You cannot broadcast over any radio frequency in the US without a license. Then there was the profanity, which is also prohibited by law. Then because people recorded him and in turn broadcast in other states, the local police ceded to Federal authority. The principal. I don’t see her dismissal as out of left field. Seeded throughout the movie we see students getting rounded up. The very first scene in the movie is the pregnant girl getting taken as she steps off the bus and Luis Chavez getting snagged. Later the teacher asks if anyone has seen Luis and she is dismissed when they bring in another Hard Harry cassette tape into the teacher’s lounge. What we’re given is an explanation for why we seeing the administration staff of the school acting they way they were. It’s a B plot for sure, but I like it. My adult daughter, who is a high school teacher rewatched the movie last year (when it was available for streaming) and felt it still rang true. She had watched my DVD at some point in her teenage years. The movie holds up because every teenager feels disenfranchised and the adults who forget what it was like or were bullies, because it appears bullies stay bullies, still act the same in positions of authority. The characters: Mark. Since you know I’m such a nerdy Superman fan, I will point out that Mark wears glasses and when he’s on the radio as Harry he does not. Until the last broadcast where he is riding in the Jeep wearing his glasses. Then as he steps into the FCC van, he swipes off his glasses as he says, “Talk hard” to his audience thereby merging the two personas to be his real self. At least that’s how I see it. This came out when I was 15. I grew up in an upper middle class small town, my dad was in his first term as mayor at this time in my life. This movie captured that environment so perfectly, it’s a time capsule of 1990 to me. The school administration was a lot like this, and apparently still is. Schools are funded by the test results of the students. Better results, more money. They expect teachers to “teach to the test”. Then if the city is affluent enough and collects those property tax dollars then the school can afford a variety of extracurriculars. Nora-This was Samantha Mathis’s first role. I personally need a forward woman because I have no moves and am not very interesting, so I really like her character, I assume because it’s the only kind of woman I’ve ever attracted. Samantha Mathis has a great lead role in That Thing Called Love with a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock. I’ll have to add that to your list of recommendations or drop some money into Reactr again some time perhaps. I liked that Nora responded to Mark in both his quiet moments and talkative. She seemed impressed by whatever paper the teacher read aloud in class. Like she found a soul mate. And I don’t mean that romantically. A soul mate is someone who gets you. Period. They really worked for me. Malcolm and Paige. People are so much more than what you see on the outside and it’s never more prevalent than when you’re a teenager and everyone wants to fit you into a box. Both society and the media have ingrained into everyone’s heads that we fit into certain categories. Even now, there may be a concerted effort to make more categories, but it’s still a limiting way to label someone so we can think we know them and not try to get to know them. The soundtrack. It’s all over the place but I love everything in it. I’m completely corny, I actually whistle and sing to myself while working or doing chores. So there are random occasions my children have heard me doing the dishes and gruffly quoting the lyrics of Was (Not Was), “Dad, I’m in Jail” from the film. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I fully expected you would. I think my favorite moment of the reaction was how you reacted to Mark’s parents getting thrown off the trail by Nora’s presence in Mark’s space. Thanks for hunting down a physical copy and sharing. I hope edit this one yourself to take it again. I think it’s worth multiple watches.
Bryan Dempsey
2024-06-29 15:43:33 +0000 UTCHi Kaiielle, fun reaction. I was a teenager when i first saw this, and it’s always been one of my favorites. Fun suggestion Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis were reunited about six years later in the fun action flick Broken Arrow directed by John Woo. Worth a watch
Walter Crockett
2024-06-26 22:04:59 +0000 UTCYeah, that is definitely NOT the school experience up here.
kaiielle
2024-06-26 18:54:43 +0000 UTCYeah I love this film, hit me in all the feels growing up. And it's shocking how much is still relevant today. Not that they predicted streamers and vloggers per se, but more to say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. It's interesting to me that you felt the principal's transgressions were contrived or implausible. Perhaps they were for the purpose of the plot, but it definitely felt like the kinds of school systems I was accustomed to, too, so it was a welcome display of realism to me. My high school had more golf carts than books, metal detectors before Columbine, and many of our teachers were on power trips 24/7. I told my parents that it felt like prison, and they didn't believe me until they walked the campus to meet my teachers. I distinctly remember a day when one of my female friends needed a shoulder to cry on, and one of the faculty drove up to tell me, "This is not the kind of place to display that kind of affection". I responded, "What are you gonna do, confiscate my hug?" and they said, "Yes" and waited for the girl to step away so she could cry by herself. America has always had a problem with conflicting standards, conflicting interests, and an overall desire to appear competent despite all the evidence to the contrary. Most of our school systems are geared toward getting grades up versus inspiring kids to invest their time in their own futures. The plan is often to lower standards to inflate the records rather than improve support for the teachers. And, somehow, on the other end of the spectrum, some parents also push their kids to the point of suicide. When California tried the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, it was shut down from kids killing themselves. We've never been good at establishing a healthy medium. So if that wasn't your experience, then I salute your system. Lovely Canadians, always making things as boring as they should be by virtue of doing things in a reasonable way, and by being able to have amicable discussions that don't result in shooting. Thanks for watching this! Now I must go, the beast stirs again... 6th time this hour...
Dan
2024-06-26 17:14:24 +0000 UTCI saw this in the theater just out of high school with my first real girlfriend. I was a bit of an introvert who didn’t talk to people very easily, but those walls broke down my senior year. There was so much I related to in this film even if I can now see it’s limitations. That said, I think it does manage to hold up. And, yes, you can add me the list of people who left the theater with a crush on Samantha Mathis. :)
Nicholas Bielik
2024-06-26 07:22:39 +0000 UTCThe universe did not want me to see this reaction. First, I spent days hunting down the DVD because it's not available digitally anywhere. Then we lost internet for like 20 minutes when I was five minutes into the reaction. And finally, my cat Vex turned off my Xbox halfway through the movie (curse touch-activated buttons for that! I like the ones on my dad's really old devices that you have to actually press). I've been especially keen on seeing people like yourself react to this movie because it actually still is surprisingly relevant over 30 years later. But especially because I view a lot of aspiring social media personalities like you in a similar way to Mark in this movie. You all are putting content out there that doesn't drag the "mainstream" line, if that makes sense, and your content feels so much more personal because of it. People relate to you. I mean sure, all the social media companies have rules, but when my dad was my age, there wasn't any way for normal people to really build an audience and say something meaningful to people. There are a depressing number of F'ed up things about growing into adulthood now, and social media has its problems, but I AM glad I live in a time where people are more connected to a bigger portion of the world. I feel like a few of the more popular movies with Christian Slater would have been recommended and would win polls. But I personally love "Kuffs" (I'm SURE I submitted that one on your suggestion form), he was in "Interview with a Vampire" a fair bit, and he was also in "True Romance," "Hard Rain," and "Young Guns 2," all of which I think you might enjoy. I don't know which ones you've seen or which ones I already suggested off the top of my head (but I'll look up both later when I feel less lazy). I had a blast watching this reaction, and I'm looking forward to your upcoming stuff! ✌️🤓
BubblyRainbows
2024-06-26 05:22:41 +0000 UTCI've been suggesting "Kuffs" to every reactor I follow forever! I want to see some reactions to it. It's one of my favorite movies for when I just want to watch something fun! And "The Legend of Billie Jean" is great too. But I actually tried to watch "Gleaming the Cube" on Amazon Prime recently. It was the first time I ever saw it. And as the video went on, the audio got more and more out of sync until the audio from an entirely different scene was playing. I tried three different devices to watch it and they all had the same problem, even if I started fresh on a new device and skipped ahead to where I left off, the sound was still off. I think it's actually just a badly encoded digital copy. I feel sorry for anyone who paid for it. This happens with "Panic Room," which we own digitally as well. Not as badly, but the sound is definitely out of time with the video. Now, since I've been waiting to watch this since the notification came up like 6ish hours ago, time to break out the DVD! ✌️🤓
BubblyRainbows
2024-06-26 02:41:08 +0000 UTCEveryone will say Gleaming the Cube and/or Heathers, and they're solid Slaters. But for the real deep cuts, I suggest KUFFS and one with him and his older sister Helen in The Legend of Billie Jean.
Christopher Smith
2024-06-26 00:35:00 +0000 UTCNice. Had to break out the old dvd. I relate to this movie in many more ways that I’d care to admit.
RichieRich
2024-06-25 23:32:54 +0000 UTC"Is it bigger than a baby's arm?" This movie was a big deal for me in my teenage years. Really identified with Mark Hunter, and would constantly say, "Rise up in the cafeteria and stab them with your plastic forks!" whenever I was in the school lunch room (though, usually not that loud). My aspirations to become a pirate radio DJ aside (which doesn't really mean anything today), I also had quite the crush on Samantha Mathis. Today, some of the performances make me cringe a bit (Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis are both spectacular), and the big bad villainous principal and her cronies are a little too big bad and villainous, and the plot itself--pretty much everything outside of Mark and Nora and of course the Happy Harry Hard-On broadcasts--feels a bit cobbled together from spare parts. But the spirit of the story still feels very palpable to me. That being a teenager sucks, and it's okay--even necessary--to rebel, if only for the sake of self-survival. To quote Harry: "Tonight, I'm as horny as a ten-peckered owl." No, wait...to quote Harry: "Just look inside yourself and you'll see me waving up at you...naked...wearing only a cock ring." Man, there's a lot of dick quotes in this. To quote Harry: "Guess who? It's 10 o'clock, do you care where your parents are?" Never mind.
Steve Mercier
2024-06-25 23:15:21 +0000 UTCYeah I had to get a DVD copy to watch it! 🥲
kaiielle
2024-06-25 21:56:43 +0000 UTCSolid flick. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen this one — it’s a shame that I can’t find it anywhere. Boo hiss! 🤪
William
2024-06-25 21:53:43 +0000 UTCLet’s heckin’ go!
Bryan Dempsey
2024-06-25 21:18:33 +0000 UTC
