School Of Rock
I must confess to not being much of a Jack Black fan. I was one of the few who found his performance in High Fidelity more annoying than endearing. The trend continued in the lackluster Orange County. And that's not even mentioning such Black duds as Saving Silverman and Shallow Hal.
But the trend started to reverse when I spotted Black on "The David Letterman Show" making a funny cameo onstage with the Foo Fighters. His work with amusing music project Tenacious D also piqued my interest. Now, with the hilarious School of Rock, I can finally call myself a Jack Black fan.
Black is Dewey Finn, an unemployed young man with a penchant for wild guitar solos and hard rock music, a passion he expresses through his band. As the film begins, Black finds himself unceremoniously booted from his band. Worse yet, his roommate Ned Schneebly (played by screenwriter and old Black pal Mike White) and Ned's whiny girlfriend are clamping down on Dewey for not paying his share of the rent.
What to do? When Dewey fields a phone call for Ned asking him to fill in as a substitute teacher at a local prep school, he makes the impromptu decision to impersonate Ned and take the gig.
Suddenly Dewey finds himself in front of a group of overachieving fifth graders, who aren't satisfied with his lectures about such topics as hangovers:
Dewey Finn: OK, here's the deal. I have a hangover. Who knows what that means?
Student 1: Doesn't that mean you're drunk?
Dewey Finn: No. It means I was drunk yesterday.
Student 2: It means you're an alcoholic.
Dewey Finn: No.
Student 2: You wouldn't come to work with a hangover unless you were an alcoholic. Dude, you got a disease!
Dewey Finn: What's your name, kid?
Student 2: Freddy Jones.
Dewey Finn: Ok, shut up!
It looks like another Dewey disaster in the making, but things take a turn for the better when he sees his students in music class and comes up with an idea: teach his students rock music and have them join him onstage in a battle of the bands.
It's a plot that could become a syrupy mess of cliches in the wrong hands. But indie director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life) and writer White (Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl) keep it from drowning in cutesy sentiment. And the un-PC Black is also perfect for keeping the material on track.
Black, White and Linklater have teamed for one of the best comedies in recent years. Black's exchanges with the students, his roommate, and hard-ass school principal Rosalie Mullins (nicely played by Joan Cusack) are frequently hilarious. So are his numerous tributes to all things rock. And the playing by Black and his band of young kids will impress you even as you're cracking up.
"God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass," prays Dewey before the film's climactic scene. "We are your humble servants. Please give us the power to blow people's minds with our high voltage rock. In your name we pray." Who's to argue with that sentiment? With School Of Rock, Black & Co. have created a film that stands with This Is Spinal Tap and Almost Famous as one of the all-time greatest comedies about rock music. Up the Irons!
Send any comments/ feedback to the author.
Although, as Dewey teaches his students, there's more to rock than getting drunk, the two do make a most excellent combo.
Laughs come aplenty, but romance plays little role in this school.
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Buy this Double-sided poster at AllPosters.com |
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Related Articles:
1) This Is Spinal Tap
2) Almost Famous
3) High Fidelity
4) Waking Life
5) Dazed And Confused
