Good

Rating: 7/10 (23 November 2003)

Like Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater has proven capable of working within the studio system while remaining a presence in the avant garde and though `The School Of Rock' seems a bit too compromised (it is a Paramount picture, after all), it still serves as a contemporary family film featuring a fine, exciting performance by Jack Black. He stars as a heavy metal musician masquerading as a substitute teacher at a tony prep school who recruits his class of adolescents to form a rock band. Though it's ultimately satisfying, there seems to be quite a bit of movie left on the cutting room floor (most of the supporting characters played by such talented performers as Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman and Mike White--who also wrote the screenplay--are reduced to caricatures) and the filmmakers play it safe by selecting heavy metal--easy parody material--as the music of choice. Though Linklater clearly likes this project, he doesn't invest a lot of emotion in it; it could have been much more significant than the knock-off it is. Black is often compared to John Belushi with his raucous, exaggerated mannerisms but he infuses his Neanderthal freneticism with a spontaneous articulation that highlights the versatility Belushi lacked and is vital to the picture's success. Together with `Shallow Hal', this proves Black can almost single-handedly carry a film and his future bodes well--a good thing for mass audiences.