Heartwarming entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2006)

No one should ever underestimate a child. The life-affirming feeling I got from watching this film came from seeing the kids in the film play the music and being real kids. Jack Black's character, while being a fake teacher, actually turned himself into the sort of teacher who makes a real impression on his pupils - the sort who inspires them to do great things. The unlikely events of the plot were easy to believe because of the enthusiasm of all involved, it wasn't at all cheesy and the music was great. The British TV show Rock School, where a real ex-rocker went into a real school and made a rock band out of some pupils, must have been based on this film concept, and that was exciting too. This film reminded me of what I liked about the show, but The School of Rock is better, in terms of excitement and sheer entertainment value. The kids involved were very young, but as we all know, kids can do anything and if you are talented, you are never too young to be musical.