I liked this movie better the first time I saw it...

Rating: Null/10 (23 August 1999)

...when it was called "Rock N Roll High School".
I still am not sure whether the moviemakers meant this as a "tribute" or just a ripoff. Before I even saw the movie, I saw the poster and trailers, and figured it out. I could go on and on about the similarities, but if you've seen RRHS you know exactly what I mean, if you haven't, you probably are already mad at me and stopped reading.
I'm not a big KISS fan, so I didn't get into that part. It was worth a matinee though. The kids who played Trip and Lex were especially good, the kid who played Jam got on my nerves for some reason, just the guy's face.

On the negative side, the movie had some pretty predicible moments. There was some gross-out humor that was unnessacary, just nasty and seemed tossed in to jump on the recent trendy grossout bandwagon. The movie ended too suddenly. The 70's retro stuff was a little too contrived. (I hate when they go out of their way to mention and show 8 track tapes and happy face logos, etc) Most of the ideas were stolen from Rock-N-Roll High School. Edward Furlong just sorta gives me the creeps for some reason, maybe I read too much about his personal life and it affected how I see him even when he's acting. The dialogue needed work. Stupid Blair Witch Project take-off print ads.
On the plus side, there were lots of twists to the plot that I didn't expect. There were a few Ramones songs used to great effect on the soundtrack (the more I think of it, the more I think the filmmakers, or someone involved anyway, were Ramones fans). Lex is a dead ringer for Dee Dee Ramone in the late 70's. The kid who played Trip was pretty talented and funny. Good period detail and costumes. Cameo by Ron Jeremy (another trend lately, but so far it hasn't been run into the ground yet). Some good laughs, and some satisfying moments. You do feel for these kids and want them to get in to the show...we all can identify how bad we wanted to see our favorite band live in high school. And hey, it's not supposed to be Citizen Kane, so why not go and enjoy yourselves? You could do worse.
I could see how this would be, like, the ultimate movie to a KISS fan, just like Rock and Roll High School is to a Ramones fan. But let's face it, if RRHS had never been made, the filmmakers defintely wouldn't have come up with this movie on their own.