good but certainly not great

Rating: Null/10 (22 October 2003)

I'll give Dewey credit. He certainly does know his rock n' roll history and who the great names in guitar and drums are. We'll not discuss that bassists get the short end of the stick (here as well as elsewhere). As a bassist myself, I admit to some smoldering resentment for the film's neglect of this detail. I could give a laundry list of names that could have been mentioned. But I digress.
As for the plot, *POSSIBLE SPOILER* let's just say that it is highly unlikely that someone of Dewey's caliber is going to land a sub's job at an expensive private school without an extensive background check. And why aren't these kid's parents wondering about their homework in math and English and such? And NO ONE in that school could hear a set of drums being played? Please . . .!
OK-- leaving out the implausible plot, the movie was a lot of fun. And that Dewey was able to find something for everyone to do is a tribute to his compassion. And the band's encore was just excellent. Apparently, these kids did do their assigned homework!
I'd give it 3Â½ of 5 stars for fun and remarkable acting by Jack Black and his young minions. It loses marks due to the implausible plot. Call it a B-.