You wouldn't think it at first...

Rating: 7/10 (20 November 2005)

I saw the commercial for this movie, and thought it seemed like a real groaner. Let's put the silly music-based humor of Jack Black from Tenacious D and his role in High Fidelity and put it in a non-religious Sister Act II.
Well, I was wrong.
While there isn't really much in the way of being really "spectacular" filmicly, Linklater wisely sets the camera back and lets the real talent shine. Most dominantly, what is immediately received from this film is that these kids rock. But what's really important is that these kids really, really do rock. Combine them with the personality of Black and the acting of Joan Cusack, and you get really enjoyable performances all around.
Also, Mike White's writing and roll in this film are very much worth mentioning. What seems like a typical story really does have things to say about following your dreams, but more importantly it also shows the pitfalls of those dreams as well... the characters willing to "sell out", the fact that they don't really win the competition, the necessity of avoiding those that just want to use rock as a way to be a bum... all of that is cleverly put in there. Just Cusack's little monologue when her character's drunk in the van with Black is enough to point out that there's actually real substance behind this script and it's not just a cop-out Hollywood film.
Which is great because it's also low on the overt "stupid loser" jokes that tend to be mostly thrown around in the attempt to make a story about a supposed loser funny. It's also low on language, so really it can be very enjoyable for many reasons, whichever way you want to approach it.
It seems on the cover to be a film that would be a quick fad and then eventually disappear into the annuls of lost comedies, but if it actually does, that's tragic, because it really is a film worth appreciating.
--PolarisDiB