Pump Up the Volume (1990) User Reviews

Just as powerful today as it was thirty years ago.

[acedj · 8/10 · 25 March 2020]

Christian Slater plays Mark Hunter, a disaffected teen that secretly runs a pirate radio station, which in the early nineties was a big deal. He does this for mostly therapeutic reasons, but soon gains a rabid fan base among his fellow high school students. Soon he begins to realize that his words are having an impact and when one student calls in for help and finding none takes their own life, things become very real for Mark. Nora Diniro, played by the underrated Samantha Mathis, figures out Mark is the voice behind the radio persona, and helps Mark as he tries to elude the FCC and get a final message out.

This movie came out my senior year in high school, and I connected with it. A lot of the themes this film touched upon were very close to me, so it has long been a favorite of mine. For any teen going through the growing pains associated with that age, I urge them to watch this movie.

As Generation X as it gets

[whatch-17931 · 8/10 · 23 October 2020]

For me, it's one of the movies I saw once nearly 30 years ago and yet I well remember heaps of scenes and details and even facial expressions of minor characters.

It's a good movie and the soundtrack is extremely good.

Not much happens here, so there's little to spoil. Which completely fits the theme of the movie. Full throttle Gen X angst, apathy, boredom. Few non Gen X'ers will get much out of this movie. And if asked by Boomers or Millenials, Gen X will try for 30 seconds to explain it, realize it's impossible and give up. Oh well, whatever, never mind.

There is one significant flaw (IMHO) and that's Slater's father and one of the school personnel look extremely similar, making some of the scenes confusing.

A great high school film

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 10 June 2008]

This 1990 film seems to be rather over looked amongst all the "American high school" films of the 80s/90s which is a shame as it is very good.

Christian Slater plays Mark Hunter, a shy teenager who has recently moved from the east coast to a suburb in Arizona. He has difficulty talking to people in person but has no problem talking to people on his illegal radio station where he can hide behind the anonymity of a voice disguiser and become "Happy Harry Hardon". His broadcasts are popular with all the pupils at his school and soon tapes of them are being traded and played at there much to the chagrin of the school authorities.

Much of his broadcast is taken up pointing out the many faults of his school in particular the actions of the principal and the guidance councillor, he also reads letters from his listeners and attempting to give some advice. Unfortunately he can't always help and after a student he spoke to on air carries out his threat to commit suicide the school uses it as excuse to clamp down on anybody who might know who he is.

Also trying to identify him is classmate Nora, played by Samantha Mathis, she however has more luck than the authorities. When he has doubts about carrying on his broadcasts she is the one who talks him into continuing.

The acting in the film is fairly solid especially from Slater and Mathis and the story is both interesting and amusing. Like most good films it isn't without its weak points; the students seem rather too uniformly fans of the broadcasts and the authorities attempts to catch him seem highly amateur although I guess if he'd been arrested five minutes into the film it wouldn't have been as interesting.

Even though it was made almost twenty years ago it still feels relevant today as it did back then the only things that really dates it is the fact that there is no internet and none of the children have mobile phones like they would today.

Free speech, teen angst, small town, fun music (Spoiler)

[daveclarkvibe · 12 December 2005]

The story of a big city kid who relocates to a small town with his parents. He has really cool toys that allow him to broadcast his thoughts, and soon some folks start listening and responding to his outrageous music and rants. HHH is the DJ of a movement of teens who echo their version of the Network anthem "I'm Mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" When some folks cross the border of what is socially acceptable in expressing their frustration and anger, the community seeks to shut him down. Also a comedic, dark, romantic film. Christian Slater gives one of the best performances of his career, and the music is worth checking out - and I credit it for turning an entire generation onto Leonard Cohen and bringing a few bands from the fringe into the mainstream.

Like Two Different Films Inside the Same Feature

[aimless-46 · 6/10 · 7 February 2006]

Probably the weakest of Allan Moyle's films, "Pump Up the Volume" lacks unity at a very basic level. What starts out as an irreverent teen comedy, with some serious social undertones, morphs during its final 20 minutes into something self-conscious and simplistic. Characters who had been shades and gray suddenly become black and white expressionistic (i.e. not realistic) caricatures without adequate explanation for the transformation. So "Pump Up the Volume" is really two very different short films within the same feature.

But while this disconnect is a fatal flaw it is also the biggest reason for studying this film. Your first impulse is to assume that Moyle, who was both writer and director, had to tack on the lame ending when he got well past the midway point and discovered he had nowhere to go with the story. But upon reflection it seems more likely that the tone of the final 20 minutes was what Moyle wanted for the entire film, that he was forced to concoct a lighter slant on the situation for commercial reasons. Taking that speculation still further, Moyle hoped to unify the two segments by making the first part less upbeat and the second part less downbeat, which only managed to hurt both parts without providing the unity he needed.

Had Moyle been able to actually make the expressionistic version he wanted it might have been a real treasure. Had he stayed with a relatively light-hearted escapist teen movie it would have been quite entertaining. Unfortunately the compromise is neither treasure nor especially good entertainment.

Which is not to say that "Pump Up the Volume" is totally unwatchable. Moyle gets an electrifying performance from Christian Slater (arguably his best ever) and a young Samantha Mathis is perfect as his semi-goth love interest. The first part of the film is entertaining and the second part does make make a powerful statement.

Mark (Christian Slater) is a new kid at an Arizona high school. He has no friends and rarely interacts with anyone at school. But at night Mark rules to air-waves with his pirate radio station which soon turns his radio character into a local cult hero. The high school is a teenage version of Stepford and Mark's radio program begins to agitate the students who in turn assert their individuality, abet collectively.

Moyle's film is honest in that it does not provide easy answers so much as offering challenges to his target audience. Like all of Moyle's teen characters, the students remind the viewer of just how awkward and rotten the young adult phase can be. They connect with the audience even as his adults are missing the mark by a wide margin. It was not until "New Waterford Girl" that Moyle began to consistently get his adult characters right.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Slaters teen master class . . .

[2cents · 10/10 · 7 May 2003]

I loved this film

When I was 17 I first saw the second half of this movie on TV, the next day I scoured my local video shops to buy the film so that I could watch the first half.

I know that sounds a little sad but I really felt that at the time this film was spot on. Parents do seem to hate you, it is incredibly hard to talk to a girl that you want to ask out and school is the last place you ever want to be. This film had the emotions just about right.

I now see its faults but I still feel that it is an excellent movie to its targeted age group, everyone who ever wanted to "rise up in the cafeteria and stab them (teachers) with your plastic fork".

I could fill this review with quotes, the speech on why teen suicide is a bad idea is up there with the "Am I funny?" scene in goodfella's.

Christian Slater is excellent, apparently it's his favourite movie and you can see that he enjoyed making it. He does dark-teen like no one else, this is Nicholson at 16! In my humble opinion this film is at the top of the teen-flick chart alongside Heathers.

Samantha Mathis makes an intriguing leading lady, she really gets her character spot on. Miss Mathis also provides one of the best sexual tension scenes ever in this genre. (it's all in the music)

A young Seth Green also makes an appearance that I am sure he would rather forget, his acting is fine it's how he looks thats the problem !!

This film is dark, funny and brutaly honest. If you are under 20 and still hate the world this will kill a couple of those boring 'too old to play to young to drink' hours.

Highly recommended.

an all-time favorite

[dhyan · 7/10 · 26 March 2000]

This movie is my therapist: whenever things couldn't seem worse, I pop it into the VCR, and feel a million times better for it. Last I knew, I understood that this was Christian Slater's favorite of his movies. It > angst, certainly, but with a kind of catharsis. Is it a great movie? H*ll no! But is it fun? Completely. And if you're a free speech nut like I am, you'll love it.

movie magic

[billybrown41 · 10/10 · 30 November 2002]

When "Pump Up The Volume" came out in 1990, I wanted to BE Christian Slater. Now that it's already been twelve years since it was released, I still can't believe how well it's held up. Aside from a couple of things that make it dated (I'm referring mainly to the opening credit sequence and the way some of the characters dress...mulletts WERE acceptable back then), the message remains the same and I think that's what has made this movie stand the test of time. Along with "Heathers", this is some of Christian Slater's best work ever. His performance alone is enough to reccommend this one, but that combined with the message, make it a cult classic. They don't make movies like this anymore.

Talk Radio

[sol- · 7/10 · 14 July 2017]

Christian Slater plays a shy yet disgruntled teenager who runs a pirate radio station which he uses to complain about his corruptly run high school in this captivating comedy from 'Empire Records' director Allan Moyle. Fresh from 'Heathers', Slater is perfectly cast in the lead role and manages to be believably milquetoast when socialising in public and yet cocky and arrogant when on air since nobody knows that it is him (some intriguing personal identity issues exist with this dynamic). The plot is not exactly airtight with the corrupt practices of the school feeling like an after-thought, only really introduced in the second half of the movie when the school tries to shut him down, but it is an entertaining ride nonetheless with things really spiraling out of control as the students take to supporting him more and more -- through graffiti and sabotaging the school's PA system -- as the administration react with increasing sternness to his actions. The film comes with a lot of positive messages too even if some of the teenagers overreact to his radio shadow (one microwaves all her jewelry); this is a film about freedom of expression and the need to be able to question those in higher authority and hold them to account. The film benefits from some terrific music too, and it still manages to be amusing even as it turns rather message-heavy towards the end.

I don't hate the world anymore, but I still love this film...

[Bifrostedflake · 10/10 · 17 July 2008]

I first saw this film around 1996, when I was 13 and just going into that 'I hate the world and everything about it' phase that most teenagers go through. I fell in love with it there and then and over the years I've owned 5 separate copies.

Not just because of the unbelievably brilliant soundtrack, not just because of the real and relate-able characters, not just because of the engaging and original plot, but because I still feel now, what I first felt when I saw the film. Sometimes everyone feels that they're alone and it takes another voice, one coming from a someone you might not even ever have met reminding you that everyone feels that crushing loneliness and only you can change that.

Even now that I'm nearing my mid-twenties and every time I watch this film I want to 'Rise up in the cafeteria' and 'stab my teachers with a plastic fork.' Being a teenager sucks, its probably the most free time of your life, but everything from parents, to homework, to hormones prevents most from truly enjoying the experience.

I want every teenager to watch this film, I want every person who looks back on their teen years with regret to watch this film, I want every person who's forgotten what its like to be a teenager to watch this film. I think there's room in just about everyone's heart for it.

it's a great day for free speech

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 2 June 2006]

Christian Slater, in the days before his roles got repetitive, got this cool role as a high school student running a renegade radio station. Obviously, the movie deals with many things - namely free speech - but it's mainly great to see someone pushing the limits, especially in an era of media concentration.

Anyway, "Pump Up the Volume" is a movie that you're sure to like. The only other recognizable cast member was Samantha Mathis, with whom Slater co-starred a few years later in "Broken Arrow". But no matter. THIS is what free speech is all about.

I would have to agree that everything in America is completely f---ed up.

Teen rebellion + freedom of speech + talented young stars = all-time cult classic for me!

[saarvardi · 10/10 · 9 March 2006]

Pump up the Volume (1990) is perhaps one of the most inspiring films that ever found their way to the celluloid forum. Upon viewing the film for the first time as a ten-years-old kid back when it was released in cinemas, I remember feeling profoundly moved by the main lead and the events his character sets in motion. This genuine masterpiece doesn't only teach us about leadership and the ability of one individual to make a difference in the world; it is also a triumph of the human spirit in general and of the youth over decadent grown-up ideas specifically.

The story presents us Mark Hunter (a then young and extremely talented Christian Slater), a teenage high school student that moves with his parents from the big city to the suburbs, when his father gets a new job as an educational consultant for a middle-America region. The days are the early nineties, when internet was probably considered radical science fiction at best, and Mark finds himself all of a sudden pretty lonely in the new school. Luckily, his parents buy him a ham radio in order to keep connected with his friends back east, and Mark finds a unique way of passing time by transmitting his thoughts about the suburbs and the lousy life of 1990 teenagers, using his ham radio as a local broadcast device. Upon gaining fame and listeners, Hunter adopts a pseudonym, one "Happy Harry Hard On" which brings messages of freedom of speech and thought to his fellow classmates at school. When stumbling upon information concerning illegal steps his school has taken regarding problematic students, things start to get out of control. As Mark, he tries to keep a low profile and doesn't blend in with the ongoing events, but as Harry he feels he must take a stand and speak up his thoughts and ideas. But can a voice be heard without its owner taking responsibility to its actions?

The notions and ideas which arise upon viewing Pump up the Volume are intriguing and fresh until this very day, 16 years after its initial release. For the younger ones, it teaches how to stand up for what you believe in and try to right society's wrongs. For grown-ups, it serves an interesting conflict about the bounders of democracy and the part the media plays in each and every one of our lives. Look out for Samantha Mathis's powerful role as Nora DeNiro, Hunter's female admirer, and one of the only people around him that know he's behind the controversial broadcasts. Also look out for a very very young Seth Green (Austin Powers, Without a Paddle) as one of the students that helps spread Harry's tapes across the school.

On a personal note, I have to say that I hold credit to this movie for a lot of who I am in my grown-up life. The film taught me I could use my words to make a difference, and for the past ten years I've been doing just that as a journalist and newspaper editor here in central Israel. For that I will always be thankful to the makers of Pump up the Volume, and I suspect it'll stay my all-time favorite for years and years to come! Naturally, I rank this one a must-see film, with a 10 out of 10 rating.

A good movie goes over the top one too many times

[stills-6 · 6/10 · 14 October 1999]

I liked this movie, in general. I liked the edginess of the direction and the performances. Mathis is great, she outshines Slater in every scene they have together, though he's good also. Much of the problem comes from the screenplay, which exaggerates every situation to ridiculous proportions. It doesn't have the cheekiness or audacity of "Heathers" to which this movie is often compared.

Despite this, situations often go over the top, like the overreaction of the FCC police ("pirate" radio is legal within a specified broadcast radius) and the laughably tyrannical school administration. Where this movie gets most of its power is with the painful portrayal of teen angst, more realistically played here than in many other places. Wanting to communicate and "connect" with other people is a common theme, but it's done extremely well here.

The soundtrack is the only plus .

[Dr.Jolly · 3/10 · 27 October 1999]

When I think of all the teen flicks during the early 90's, one that will stick in my head as an example of how this decade tried so hard to recreate the 80's teen classics, is Pump Up The Volume. This movie was a sad attempt in trying to create a teen-flick with a message and turned out to be a really bad mix of Good Morning Vietnam, Lean On Me, and MacGiver all roled into one. Slater shows little of the acting potential that he supposedly has and you quickly find why Samantha Mathis joined Mary Stuart Masterson and Molly Ringwold in that "where did they go? list". Considering that I'm an actual disc jockey, I can say that most of what you've seen in this movie, while remotely possible, isn't in reality. Plus, I'm having a real tough time believing in the school getting away with what it has been doing. Please, allow Slater to leave this movie as a forgotten step in his superstar-in-the-making process that seems to never end. The upside to the movie is the soundtrack that has the universally heard Concrete Blonde song, which never appears in the movie, sadly. This flick barely got a 3 out of a 10.

Great chemistry between Slater and Mathis

[chih_wei · 15 February 2001]

This is a good movie let down by uneven direction and 1-dimensional characters (besides the 2 leads). I would probably love this movie a lot, had I seen it when it came out in 1990. Now, the teenage angst (Slater's rants) thing is getting tiresome and whiny to me. Nevertheless, I want to point out how wonderful the scenes between Slater and Mathis are, in particular the scene where they kind of tangoed around each other and the scene where they had their first kiss. These scenes are full of playfulness, seduction, anticipation and uneasy charms. I hope there are more good movie roles to come for both of them.

Lastly, I think the DVD release could really use some special features, like audio commentary by the director, Slater and Mathis. Since this is Slater's personal favorite, it'd be great to hear his perspective.

HHH High School gets its own Howard Beale

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 30 March 2012]

In a career dotted with offbeat and quirky roles Christian Slater was at his most offbeat and quirky in Pump Up The Volume. Slater plays a young transfer student from an eastern high school to a new school in Arizona. His Clark Kent persona is a mild mannered wallflower type. But his father made the mistake of giving him a short wave radio set to keep in touch with friends back east who are presumably ham radio operators. What Slater does is create his own pirate radio station and starts with another whole personality of disc jockey Harry Hardon. Slater's other self isn't Superman, he's more like a teenage version of Howard Beale from Network.

He's amusing at first until one of the students commits suicide after calling in and Slater does little to discourage his intentions. That's a hard call to make, even professionals miss telltale signs of that kind of serious depression.

But when Slater starts disrupting the power structure in the person of principal Annie Ross, the hunt is on with even the Federal Communications Commission brought in to track down this broadcasting felon. Imagine Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as a school principal and you've got Ross.

The main weakness of Pump Up The Volume is that Slater and Ross create the only two memorable characters. All the rest are strictly in support, we get no insights into any of the rest of the cast. But these two are memorable characters. A teenage mad prophet of the air and a school principal from hell.

Pump Up The Volume is a staple for Christian Slater fans.

What a teen flick should be.

[MEHHS · 10/10 · 6 October 2004]

I'm 28 now, but this film is still very important to me. PUTV is the best teen drama out there (though there aren't many to compete with it), it really grasps how so alone some teenagers can feel and how rejectedby the system they so often are. The film has dated some what, but if there ever was an early warning sign of the problems that face American schools today (columbine esque) this is it. You can only push teenagers so far before they lose the plot, end up killing themselves or other people, PUTV is about those feelings. Slater is the bomb in this film, he is truly awesome and Mathis plays a great sidekick. The fact she shows a bit of flesh makes the movie highly genuine, yes girls do get naked with boys whilst at high school. PUTV does now suffer with its meaning to the modern era, but modern kids still do get dejected and rejected and this film is a great message in saying.... You Are Not Alone! 10/10 Then.... 8/10 Now.

Good premise; too much plot

[smatysia · 7/10 · 23 April 1999]

This is one of those movies where the first hour is great, but then the need for a plot building to a climax gets badly in the way. A lot of films come up with a really good premise, but lose it when the need for plot devices rears its ugly head. Slater does good work here, but I suppose that too many years have passed for me to identify with the enormous significance of teenage angst.

Every teenager should see this film

[Idocamstuf · 9/10 · 29 August 2003]

What a film!!, this is a film that very accurately represents how it feels to be unpopular, or the new kid in high school. Slater gained much respect from me for his terrific performance is Hard Harry, a new kid at a school where the staff don't seem to care about the students, Harry runs a pirate radio station as an anonymous student at the high school, and shares his feelings about the school, he gains a large following of students who feel the same way he does, but then trouble starts. This is a truly great film, with great performances, this is probably the "Rebel Without A Cause", for our generation. ***1/2 out of ****.

Not Too Loud Though!

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 30 September 2013]

Christian Slater plays Mark Hunter, a shy teenager who has just moved from the East coast to Arizona. His parents give him a short wave radio set that he turns into a pirate radio station where his shyness evaporates, and instead he uses the handle "Hard Harry", where he vents his frustrations and confusions to his fellow teenagers, who it turns out are very receptive to this message, and "Hard Harry" finds himself the most popular and influential person in town, much to his high school principal's consternation. Things take a dark turn when a troubled teenage listener commits suicide, and the authorities become eager to shut down his illegal broadcasts.

Smart and appealing film has a fine performance from Christian Slater, that really speaks to the hearts and minds of teenagers, and still rings true. Dramatically uneven, but will resonate strongly with people who like to listen to talk radio.

great portrayal of postmodern angst & media issues

[FilmLabRat · 9/10 · 13 July 2003]

This movie really captured not only the disillusionment and pain of adolescence but also the general malaise of our postmodern society. Also brought out the tension between media "for the people" and free speech vs. media polluting the people and issues of censorship. While the film clearly made the latter out to be the "bad guy," a mature person might look beyond the pointed message and see the important issues on both sides --> Does media come from culture and speak truth, having the responsibility to honestly represent "reality," or does media influence culture and thus should it responsibly rise above mediocrity, challenging people to something higher in life? Tough issues in media studies. How to bring the two concerns together is the challenge, in a completely corporate-driven media culture that really stands for neither.

ummmm.... Christian Slater was also great in the lead performance.

one of the best teen movies of the 90's!

[jaws! · 9/10 · 16 July 1999]

pump up the volume is one of the best teen movies of the 90's! it's smart,and very thought-provoking. this is the second most thought-provoking teen movie of all time. second only to the breakfast club. pump up the volume is in the top 3 of the best teen movies of the 90's! it's also very entertaining,and sometimes funny. but a lot of the movie is serious. slater has never been better.

it's a very good movie. i give pump up the volume ***1/2

out of ****

Is this the missing link between REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and MY SO-CALLED LIFE??

[bhicks56 · 6/10 · 4 December 1999]

Not really. But nice try.

The problem with this movie is that it tries to juggle so many serious teen issues and still make a Hollywood movie. Take the teen suicide, for instance, which comes early in the movie. It's so underdeveloped that you see it more as a plot point than a tragedy. The movie tries to handle topics like homosexuality with one student, but like the kid that shot himself, there isn't really much to say. It's more like the writer-director wanted to make his movie as interesting as possible, but all we get is this gay kid with a sad story and that's it! The actor who plays him has such an attitude that we can't even sympathize for him.

I thought the idea was cool. A highschool loner who just moved in from the east starts a pirate radio show and becomes the teen messiah of his angst-ridden public. But too bad all the characters are practically cardboard cutouts of punks, yuppies, shy geeks, and jocks who all have one thing in common: they can't express their innerself or something.

The only character that comes out with more than one dimension is Sarah Matheson as outgoing Nora. Her character might have been thought out more than the others, but Matheson still pulls it off masterfully.

I don't want to give this movie a total negative review, because it's on the right track. It's just too bad it's all played safe.

Rebel without a clue

[=G= · 5/10 · 28 November 2003]

"Pump Up the Volume" is an ignoble and obvious fabrication which tells of a bookish new student (Slater) at an Arizona high school who is tongue-tied on campus by day but articulate by night while operating a pirate radio station from his basement under the pseudonym "Hard Harry". His rabble rousing broadcasts of rebellious antiestablishment rhetoric and crotch talk makes him a cult hero among the student body turning them against the school's fascist principal while his lame parental units remain utterly clueless and he falls for the campus babe and preaches silly "teens are people too" sermons until everyone from the cops to the FCC are trying to track him down. Stupid stuff only a teenager could love. (C)