Easy to forgive

Rating: 7/10 (2 August 2005)

Indie director Richard Linklater goes mainstream in this unpretentious comedy about a failed heavy metal guitarist (Jack Black) who poses as a substitute teacher to earn some quick cash. Stuck in a classroom full of nerdy overachievers, he decides to loosen them up by moulding them into a rock band.
The film only contains a few funny lines and does not live up to the comedy genre. However, Black is his usual loveably slobbish self, Joan Cusack (Principal Mullins) plays her wound-up character well and the kids are cute, so it's easy to forgive the film for only raising a few chuckles rather than belly laughs.