Jack Black Sabbath

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2004)

You say you need "over the top"? It don't get no more over the top than the good Mr. Black, who should now be inducted into the Eyebrow Hall of Fame along with Jack Nicholson and John Belushi. On paper, this script may not have looked all that great, but as a vehicle for Jack Black it's just about perfect. The erstwhile lead singer of Tenacious D just lets it fly, and the results are hillarious. And at the risk of being labelled a pederast, i think i'm in love with Miranda Cosgrove...i mean, really...could she be any cuter? Somebody get her into a TV series, and fast. Her interplay with Jack Black on the DVD extras could have been released on its own as the trailer for "SOR"...it's a riot.
The kids in the movie, most of whom seem to have little or no acting experience prior to "SOR", are utterly natural and uniformly terrific. While they're mostly there to serve as background for Black, they manage to steal half the movie anyway, which, i suppose, is what the director intended.
If you watch Joan Cusack closely, it seems she's channeling her brother John in a few of the scenes...the reads on some of her lines are remarkably similar...five's gotcha ten they worked together on her delivery...
"SOR" is one of those family-friendly flicks you can watch with the kids...so give them a few beers and a bowl of guacamole and laugh along with them....