One of the inspirations that led up to the creation of Merciless Radio USA, Pump Up The Volume was one of the few films that dealt with Pirate Radio in any way. With the lead of Christian Slater during the best point in his acting career, this movie…
One of the inspirations that led up to the creation of Merciless Radio USA, Pump Up The Volume was one of the few films that dealt with Pirate Radio in any way. With the lead of Christian Slater during the best point in his acting career, this movie was phenomenal in many ways. It not only exposed the fanaticism of the parents of the country at the time but also the potential of the youth in a time where electronics served more in the parental role than the parents. It also presented civil disobedience in a way that felt as though open rebellion was a possible action for many. A rare thing in cinema without the over the top action sequences that put them apart from the reality of the thing.
Plot: In the suburban hinterlands of Arizona, pirate-radio personality DJ Happy Harry Hard-On wages a one-man war against boredom from his bedroom FM transmitter by night. In between his wondrous Lenny Bruce-style stream-of-consciousness rants, Harry attacks the airwaves with the likes of old Punk groups like the Descendents, Bad Brains, and Concrete Blonde, as well as occasionally kickin' it old school with some early Rap bands. By day, though, Hard Harry is Mark Hunter, a painfully shy new kid who's anonymous to the point of being invisible at Hubert Humphrey High School. Completely misunderstood by his '60s-era boomer parents, Mark is desperate to keep his radio alter ego separate from his day-to-day persona, especially as his radio shows draw more attention from the authorities than he would like. Fellow misfit Nora (Samantha Mathis) eventually discovers Harry's true identity, much to Mark's chagrin, and the two of them become torchbearers against the stifling status quo of the town as they dodge the police, the school administration, and the FCC.
Mainly, though, this is a rousing teen call-to-arms movie that showcases Slater's talents as he developed the cynical, sarcastic neo-Jack Nicholson delivery that would become his trademark in movies like Heathers and Gleaming the Cube. He's at his best during his radio monologues (making them truly seem ad-libbed), as his Lenny Bruce influence becomes clear.
