My friend and I watched this cheesy movie because we were 14 and had our own band together. My Dad was watching it with us, and being the experienced professional singer he was, he was pointing out the importance of vocal harmonies. We listened and related to the shaky starts and ruined rehearsals...but I was most interested in the drums, as they were the popular Vistalite series made by Ludwig. I had my own set of them, the same era too, only mine were not the spiral pattern like those used in the film; they were "smoke" black (thus, my kit was cooler). We realized it was a bit of a stupid movie, but we were early high-schoolers and inspired by anything we could catch on TV that involved bands (of course MTV changed that soon after). I loved Smith in American Graffiti but he was MORE of a dork in this one. We howled laughing when he resents his nosy old neighbor complaining about the noise and says disgustedly, "rinky-DINK!" We knew WE would have said something far worse! Corny music, some fair acting, but a pleasant film. But I always wondered...was "I Shot The Sheriff" the only damn song Rapid Fire even knew? I couldn't figure out why they had FANS, when they knew only one song and were lousy at it to boot!

They never show this anymore, but back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and independent channels showed movies rather than infomercials, I watched this about eight times in five years. It is cheesy beyond belief, but also heartwarming, compelling and realistic in how it portrayed the angst of high school losers. Charles Martin Smith is a talented actor and effectively plays the lead loser. He has slept-walk through his high school years and wants his last year to be something special. He starts a band with some fellow students and their aim is to win the "Battle of the Bands", but in their way is Rapid Fire, a hard rock band in the 70's tradition. They are blown dried studs with open shirts and tight pants. With all Ron Howard's success, I cannot believe this little gem hasn't made it to video or DVD. But then again, this was before Howard's formula was established and this demo embarrasses him.

I love this film! Yes it's cheesy but it is also an accurate description if you were ever in bands while in jr. high etc. I also happen to know the brothers who were in Rapid Fire. Rapid fire was not the name of their band and the lead singer was an actor but the rest of the band was a real high school band at Dallas' lake highlands high school. The bass player is a friend of mine and he now owns/operates a famous studio in Dallas tx. A nice tid bit is that they(the band) thought their music would actually be in the film...but it didn't happen. If you haven't seen it, watch it cuz it's pretty good for us naive chees eaters.

I can't speak for the average viewer, but if you were ever part of a neighborhood rock band that fantisized greatness while playing on drum sets obtained with S&H green stamps and guitars from the local Sears & Roebuck, then this film will reconnect you with your youth. From band managers, to battles of the bands, to playing your own original songs, to the love story we all imagined, to the popularity we all dreamed of, it's all there. The tunes are simple but catchy, and the ending is what fun movies are made of. If you never played in a neighborhood rock band, you may not relate. :+)