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School of Rock (2003)
Sometimes you come upon a movie with no expectations and it ambushes you with a level of quality that seems to have no business being in that movie. School of Rock is just such a movie. I hoped to like the movie because I've been waiting for another movie to properly utilize the very funny Jack Black since High Fidelity but I didn't have high hopes. I was totally unprepared for the greatness of this movie. Not only is it a near perfect movie for Black, it comes complete with possibly the best child cast ever and a near perfect script from Mike White.
Black stars as rocker Dewey Finn. He lives for rock 'n roll. Watching him perform with his band he seems possessed by the music in a manner that obviously baffles his bandmates. To them he is an embarrassment and the eject him in favor of a pretty boy guitarist. Then to add to his misery, Dewey's longtime friend and roommate Ned (Mike White) tells him to cough up his share of the rent by the end of the week or move out. Desperate, Dewey pretends to be Ned to accept a long term substitute teaching position at an elite prep school. He has absolutely no idea what to do with the kids and instructs them to have extended recess while he waits out a hangover.
Things change when he realizes that some of the kids have musical talent. He gets the idea to teach them about real rock music, not the bland pre-processed pop music kids listen to today. To do that he turns them into a real band with the intention of entering them into a local Battle of the Bands. Needless to say this won't sit well with the kids' parents or Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack) so he orders the students to keep it a secret. Dewey then becomes an actual teacher, unloading his encyclopedic knowledge of rock music on the kids and getting them interested through his infectious energy and enthusiasm.
On the surface, the very concept of the movie seems painfully formulaic, no doubt contributing to my low expectations for the movie going in. But the shock here is that White's script makes every single kid a well rounded character and more importantly, a realistic character. There are no precocious children in this movie acting like miniature adults. These kids are real and they each have a distinctive personality. There is Zack (Joey Gaydos) who plays lead guitar in the band. He is a quiet kid, obviously smart and talented, but bullied by his father into a joyless existence of study. He isn't allowed to have his own ideas or desires and certainly not allowed to have fun. But Dewey nurtures his musical talent and then shows him how to be a rock star, encouraging him to speak out and be his own man. It's amazing to watch the kid grow and find his own voice in front of us. Similarly, Dewey draws out the shy keyboardist (Robert Tsai) and backup singer (Maryam Hassan) by making them proud of their abilities, proud enough to flaunt them and break out of their little cocoons. Dewey gets the most trouble from Summer (Miranda Cosgrove), the teacher's pet who thrives on the rules and schedules of the school. He wins her over by first calling her on her behavior and then finding her duties that match her personality. She too thrives and starts to break out of the role she made for herself into a more sociable well adjusted child. It's this depth and growth in just about every character that gives the movie its charm. Even the principal has layers. Instead of just being a tight ass, she has a history and reason for being the way she is that chafes at her soul.
Jack Black is the movie's engine though. His high energy performance makes Dewey's unorthodox approach to teaching believable. I found myself thinking I would approve of my son taking a class like this. He doesn't just give dry facts to the kids but instead takes the material he wants to teach and gives it perspective. He ties it into things that the kids can relate to and thus draws them in. Black has that infectious energy that makes Dewey a workable character. He lights up the screen and leaves every ounce of himself on the screen, holding back nothing.
It's rare to find a movie that draws such realistic children and adults at the same time. Often one or the other is badly underwritten, giving some phoniness to the proceedings, no matter how entertaining. School of Rock gives us real kids and real adults and runs them through a weird idea, which it handles as realistically as possible. The end result is very satisfying because it all has substance, and I grew attached to almost every character. The lone exception is Ned's girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman), a nasty shrew who has the thankless job of playing villain in this movie. Credit Silverman though for some good acting, she makes her character thoroughly hateful. It may be a flat character but she makes it memorable.
I would love to hear a detailed explanation from the MPAA on the rating though. How on earth is this movie PG-13? I would not hesitate to let my son watch this movie. I'm absolutely at a loss to understand what could possibly have earned this movie that rating. It has no sex, no violence and no swearing. If this isn't evidence that the rating system has completely failed, I don't know what is.
This is a great film. It is entertaining beyond belief and manages to make Jack Black into a heartwarming fellow. This from a fellow who once sang "I'm shooting my juice, right in your caboose" while playing with his band Tenacious D. The movie is well written, well acted and sharply directed. The music is great and really I can't come up with enough good things to say about it. Go see it. Take the whole family. Seriously. And if this movie isn't in my personal collection within two hours of its DVD release, you can assume I've died.
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