Mark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
Writer/Director: Allan Moyle
Stars: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Anthony Lucero. (CS is actually 11th billed and they're not alphabetical. Weird.)
21 songs in the Soundtracks. None are performed by the cast, they're all recordings either in the score or played on the air by CS.
Nice summary by another IMDb'r: "Mark is an intelligent but shy teenager who has just moved to Arizona from the East Coast. His parents give him a short-wave radio so he can talk to his pals, but instead he sets up shop as pirate deejay Hard Harry, who becomes a hero to his peers while inspiring the wrath of the local high school principal. When one of Harry's listeners commits suicide and Harry- inspired chaos breaks out at the school, the authorities are called in to put a stop to Harry's broadcasts."
CS (b. '69) is a little old for a HS student, but we're used to that. CS talks more than he DJ's, and the script puts him in some tough situations. But he gets support from a local girl who discovers who he is.
Even though I should be rooting for the establishment, I liked this kid and what he was trying to accomplish much better. The fact that the school principal was exposed as corrupt was really extraneous. CS wasn't feeling angst because of the corruption, nor were most of the students who reacted to him. It was just teen frustration, pain and simple. (That was supposed to be "plain", but the typo is better.)
Highly recommended. Glad it has the Music tag, even though it's completely undeserved.
New Line Cinema & more, dir. Moyle; 8
