Movie: School Of Rock
Directed by Richard Linklater; Written by Mike White
Starring Jack Black, Joan Cusack (Paramount)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Good morning, class! Open your books to the chapter on comedy releases of 2003, page 482, School of Rock.

In summary School Of Rock is hilarious and also... instructive. Most of you in the class are younger and not in tune with all the great moments in the History of Rock; the good news is that the movie will give you extra credit for Rock Music Appreciation 101. You will even learn a lot about how songs are written and how they evolve into a finished performance, but in the end this is a comedy vehicle and given the subject matter, it's surprisingly un-raunchy. It's almost family fare. Hats off to Director Richard Linklater, who also made Dazed And Confused, for managing to avoid both mushy sentimentalism and the usual dose of fart jokes.

Now, who can tell us the name of the lead actor and his character; Jason in the back? Yes, Jack Black plays Dewey Finn, a wannabe rocker who was recently tossed from his band. He stumbles into a substitute teacher job at a prestigious private school and over the course of a couple weeks educates the kids in all things rock. Anybody, raise your hands if you think something like this could happen in real life. Right, nobody thinks that! But there are some points where School Of Rock is stretched a little thin even by its own logic, especially when the police come to arrest Finn at the school and he somehow escapes. I could ask for better editing or writing there but we'll have to let that one go because basically the story is a fun excuse to let a rocker's chaos loose in a world of rules and tight control, isn't it?

So we are agreed then the plot is fanciful and I will also tell you it's fairly predictable, but as it plays out, Jack Black exudes such genuine, unbridled passion for rock music (he's a real musician who's able to simultaneously impersonate AC/DC's Bon Scott and Angus Young) that he singlehandedly makes the movie memorable.

Question, does anybody remember a similar music oriented role for him? Up here, Sharon? Yes, before Shallow Hal we already knew Jack Black was in tune with rock by his role as a record store clerk in High Fidelity, which by the way, had Joan Cusack's bother John in it. Here Joan Cusack plays the uptight principal perfectly and the kids in the class are alright too. C'mon now, I said, "THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT!" Surely that was worth a snicker! Read up on The Who. Anyway everyone in the class has talent, we are going to see lots more of all of them, especially Joey Gaydos who played Zack and Miranda Cosgrove who played Summer.

There will be a test, so remember what you've learned come Oscar time. I will also expect a two page essay on why the Academy doesn't award comedies Best Picture. Class dismissed.

The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes, it gets a gold star.
Would I go to see it again? I'm putting the kids in the class and it's definitely up for extra credit at DVD time.

© 2003 - Rusty Pipes