And that's a magic number

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2010)

"I service society by rocking." – Jack Black
"School of Rock" is a crowd pleasing family movie in which a lazy bum (Jack Black) impersonates a substitute teacher, sneaks into a school and teaches music to a class of quirky fifth graders. Realizing that the students actually have musical potential, the bum signs them up to a Battle of the Bands music competition, the winner of which will win 20,000 dollars.
For a film which encourages us to "rebel like rockers" and "stick it to the man", this film is ridiculously formulaic and about as "anti-establishment" as a box of Oreos. The obstacles are clichéd, the characters are paper thin and the climax, in which the students lose the battle but win both our hearts and the cheers of a crowd, is straight out of, not only "Rocky" and "Sister Act", but every high-school and teen movie on the planet.
And yet...the film has deservedly become a classic of sorts. Jack Black has never been better, his manic antics, Jack Nicholson eyebrows and musical talents put to good effect. The cast of kids is similarly infectious, Joan Cussak is cute, the soundtrack is catchy and director Richard Linklater, always reliable, manages to side-step most clichés in favour for subtle character moments and a healthy respect for both the powers of music and the educational ideals which are often lost in the pursuit of examination success.
Mostly, though, the film is rather unique in that it gets its laughs without resorting to vulgarity, gross out humour (except for a stereotypical gay kid) or desperate antics. Rarely does a film aim for the 9 to 40 age group and pull things off. Now raise your goblet of rock and lift a toast to those who rock!
8/10 – Some funny dialogue and antics by Jack Black, but mostly its the gentle direction of Richard Linklater which lifts this production. Watch how Black's other "music vehicle", "Tenacious D In the Pick of Destiny", failed completely with a hack director at the helm.
Worth multiple viewings.