Written and Directed by Allan Moyle
| Starring: | Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Annie Ross, Andy Romano, Scott Paulin, Mimi Kennedy, Anthony Lucero, Billy Morrissette, Cheryl Pollack |
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Written and Directed by Allan Moyle
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He`s a pirate radio broadcaster in an Arizona city and a hero to those who feel down and out in one of the nation`s wealthiest and healthiest regions: the kids all tune in when they can catch his sporadic secret transmissions and trade clandestine tapes with each other.
Even though Christian does manage to give voice to what some are feeling, he is largely venting his own cynicism, and considers most of his peers to be middle class boobs. Our boy is more concerned with wallowing in self-pity and condemming the `rents as sellouts while broadcasting from their house, than in trying to create hope of any kind.
The moral authority to critcize this "exhausted decade" is assumed here-not earned in any apparent way. This movie bemoans the prevalant despair in some young people, but actually ends up becoming a part of the problem itself: boredom is no cure for lack of ambition, and nihilism is not a pose conducive to the revival of hope.
Meanwhile, our guy is a shy and unassuming person at school, where no one knows him. He becomes afraid of the influence his radio persona begins to acquire, especially when a caller he treated rudely commits suicide for no apparent reason. One devoted female fan tracks down our boy`s secret identity and helps him elude the concerned authorities, who are now serious about shutting him down.
He gives one final broadcast in a mobile unit to avoid FCC trackers, and, to give an ethical twist to the story, encourages the kids to rebel against boredom and complacency and reveals schoolboard corruption discovered in papers he stole from his father`s office. The unsuspecting father helps nab the culprit after hearing the news, demonstrating to all the teens gathered at school for the finale that at least one adult is basically honest and will listen to teens. Happy ending, anyone?
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