Great music, funny kids, infectiously energetic Black... what's not to love?

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2006)

I have to admit, my initial impression of School of Rock was not a good one. When it was first released, I had though it would be one of those turgid family "comedies" if the term can even be used to describe the horrible predictable messes they usually turn out to be, a-la Rebound and R.V. However, once I was finally persuaded to go see it, my mind was blown as to how very wrong I was.
It's true, the subject matter is very limited and the premise seemed very questionable: an over the hill rocker (Black) intercepts his roommate's call to be a substitute teacher for a class of private school kids, poses as his roommate to make some money, and ends up teaching the class about the art of rock and roll, soundproofing the room and turning the entire class into a rock band, with the intent of competing in the local battle of the bands competition. It may sound silly and unbelievable, but the lesson learned here is never underestimate the amazing talents of director Richard Linklater and star Jack Black.
School of Rock seemed to be yet another quirky edition to Linklater's extremely varied resumé, going from serious romantic dramas like "Before Sunrise" to lowbrow stoner comedies such as the underrated "Dazed and Confused". But Linklater for whatever reason turned out to be the perfect choice to pull School of Rock together, making the very best possible use of the source material and even managing to make a bunch of young kids funny. This would normally be a painful process and even more painful result, but surprisingly enough the kids are actually really funny, and get a fair amount of side-splitting punch lines. This is an accomplishment in film-making itself, without even mentioning the colossal force of the film's star: Jack Black.
I suppose it would really be a matter of taste, but these days it would seem Jack Black is without question one of the most watchable performers in the industry. It is true that he goes shamelessly over the top with boundless enthusiasm, but for whatever reason instead of completely falling flat, his energy is ultimately infectious, and makes you want to be rolling around on the floor, hooting hollering and busting out a violent air guitar solo with him. Black has launched quite the successful career off the success of this movie, and upon viewing his recent popularity is no surprise. There's a very likable quality about Black, even when playing a complete washed up feckless loser he still manages to capture our hearts with his cheeky, infectious enthusiasm. This goes without mentioning the guy has the best use of eyebrows since Jack Nicholson - indeed, it would seem Black can do no wrong.
But although Black is without question the star of the movie, and the main attraction as well, he is not the only talent on display here: the music itself also plays a huge part in the story, and is worth the price of a rental just to listen to the soundtrack, with clips from classic Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and the Doors, not to mention Black's new humorous concoctions such as singing "Math is a wonderful thing" when trying to convince the stuffy headmistress, (Joan Cusack, hilarious and also very much worth seeing) that he is in fact teaching the class through song. There's also a funny little role from writer Mike White as Black's roommate, the wonderfully named Ned Schneebly, and Cusack herself has moments where she threatens to outdo Black. The wonderful cast pull off the material brilliantly and again help to raise the quality bar even more.
School of Rock may have sounded like a bomb waiting to explode, but in the end it turned out marvelously infectious and one of the best feel good and laugh out loud movies of the year. Black is nothing less than superb, a force of comedy nature waiting to be reckoned with, and the kids even manage to be funny and show some genuine acting (as well as musical) ability. The music itself of course is worth checking out the entire movie for, as it features one of the best soundtracks in recent history. Safe to say School of Rock is very much worth the viewing, even for those who aren't fans of Rock music, you are unlikely to be disappointed.
-8/10