This rating goes to eleven!

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2003)

I came to School of Rock with low expectations. What else can one bestow upon a film with the concept of Jack Black coning his way into a teaching job, and turning his class into a tournament favorite at Battle of the Bands? Such material seemed primed for smarmy "family time" sentiment, pushing the cheese meter as far into the red zone as ever before.
Thankfully, the film's creators understand all the seedy and rebellious overtones of rock music's essence, and they picked the perfect star. Black seems to be much like Jason Lee. He is not an actor, but a star, and shines when given a chance to unveil his personality within the proper context. Linklater and White have given us a movie which seems tailor made for Black's bulbous hyperactivity, and the man never disappoints.
The film spends a great deal of time paying homage to rock's greats, both past and present. It laments the lost innocence of the music business, and the growing trend of using music as nothing more than a vehicle to sell other lifestyle products which sponsor MTV (the sacred cow of the biz). Black spends much of his time teaching his class about rock history and giving them audio and video of the greats at the peak of their form. He gives yet more support to the growing sentiment that the late '60s and early '70s were the golden age of rock music, but manages not to get overly sentimental for the sake of appeasing old timers.
Going back on a history of horrible movies based on the premise of rock music and youth rebellion (and there are a plethora), just about any other cast and set of creators could have welcomed us into just another nightmare. School of rock is, instead, an infinite dream. It gives hope for the persistence and resiliency of a musical style which has become an institution unto itself. There is worship and reverence from those who sincerely love the music, but aren't afraid to laugh at it (or themselves). Most importantly, this flic gives just as little respect to authority or convention as rock music should. Its anti-hero is not forgiven all his transgressions (though he is put in charge of an after-school group), and he doesn't get the girl. This is a Jack Black character, and not a role for Adam Sandler. It's about a f*ck-up who's not ashamed of who he is, but managed to make a small difference in spite of himself. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, Black's not a man for all seasons, but he must be doing something right.