Jack Black makes School of Rock a very fun movie indeed

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2005)

School of Rock is one of those films where you know what's going to happen. You know that Jack Black and his class of would-be rockers will have a bumpy ride at first, you know that they'll start enjoying themselves, and then something bad will happen...only for it all to work out fine in the end. However, unlike most films of this ilk - it doesn't matter that it's predictable; as getting there is so much fun! Jack Black fits his role here like a glove, and the rest of the cast - children and adults - really give it their all, making School of Rock a very lively film indeed. The fact that it's hilarious throughout, and there's a strong degree of respect for the classic rock gods doesn't exactly hinder it either. The plot line is fairly typical, and it follows Jack Black's waster, who manages to cheat his way into a job as a substitute teacher. Of course, he has no idea how to teach; so maths, science, geography etc go out the window, in favour of a more 'relaxed' style of teaching. However, it isn't long before the bummed out rocker finds his students have musical ability; and he decides to use them to realise his dream of winning 'Battle of the Bands'.
The central message of the movie seems to be that having a good time and 'sticking it to the man' is more important than boring school subjects. Depending on how you look at life, this can actually be true - I mean, if we only live once; why not spend that time rocking in the Battle of the Bands competition rather than sitting listening to some teacher waffle on about what happened three hundred years ago in some other country? Of course, proper schooling tends to allow people to leave with better prospects - but rocking is so much more fun! Jack Black embodies this sort of ideology with his role in this film, and it's clear that roles like this are what really put him in his element. Black certainly isn't the greatest actor of all time - but he's definitely one of the most exciting leading men around at the minute. At first, I thought this film was something of a departure for the usually sombre director of Before Sunrise; but School of Rock, with its slacker roots and strong sense of fun actually compliments Richard Linklater's filmography nicely. On the whole, I recommend this movie to everyone. On paper, it's not my cup of tea - but it's hard not to enjoy a movie like this, and I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to anyway.